Full Circle
by Ruthie
Summary: FINAL PART: Sam and McKay consider their relationship, and as Debbie puts her escape plan into action, someone gets hurt - will she make it off world?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Full Circle  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Feedback: jm-webmistress@fsmail.net   
  
Spoilers: Children of the Gods, The First Commandment, The Broca Divide, Redemption part 2  
  
Summary: "I'm trying to tell you the obvious, hon," she smiled, "He doesn't love you - stop chasing him."  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Angst, Jack/Other, Sam's POV. I apologise if I've committed a Mary Sue - I'm not sure… MCKAY WARNING: No, I'm not horrible to him. He's nice in this story.   
  
Author Notes: Many thanks to NG who continually and happily reviews everything I write - I doubt I'd be here without her encouragement. Thanks also to everyone else who reviews my work - you guys have helped me to be where I am today. Oh, God I'm getting emotional! g Now, get on with the story…  
  
Archive: Heliopolis, Gateworld, Fanfiction.net  
  
~ Full Circle ~  
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2003  
  
**********  
  
For so long, I've imagined myself with him.  
  
For so many years, it's felt like he'd always be there for me, when I needed him. How wrong I was.   
  
So young and foolish, I fell straight for his charms, thinking nothing about the future and what it could hold, what it would do to my heart when I finally realised that the dream wasn't going anywhere, that we weren't going anywhere.  
  
For five whole years I believed in it, in him, in us. He was always there, my rock, my constant - and now he's been taken straight from under my hand. My touchstone suddenly isn't there any longer, and it's   
  
only just beginning to dawn on me how much I needed him. How much I still need him.  
  
I must sound so stupid. Like a little schoolgirl crying over the loss of her first love, her first crush. For that I apologise, but I just feel so…empty. There's a part of me that's been his for five years, but now I've got it back, and I have no idea what to do with it.   
  
We've come full circle, he and I. In the beginning, we near despised each other - despite our banter at the briefing room table that first morning, I came to respect him, to believe in him. To love him. Now, we're right back at the start. He won't talk to me - it's like he doesn't know me. Nothing could be further from the truth.   
  
I opened my heart to him, let him into my soul. We were intimate without having to be intimate sexually, without even sharing a bed together. Just a few stolen kisses, the longing gazes and the gentle touch of a hand spoke volumes to me about the way he was feeling, without him ever having to tell me.  
  
Perhaps that's why we went wrong. Our level of communication must have only been about ten percent verbal, at the most. We relied on our emotions and friendship to see us through the tough times. He never was very good with words. Always sounding brash when he meant to be kind, always losing his temper when he merely meant to scold.  
  
And I learned to love him the way he was. Damn, he was a royal pain in the ass - but he was mine. With Jack, I had a home, I had a future. Now I've been left out in the rain again, with no one. Just like it was   
  
with Jonas, but this time it hurts a lot more.  
  
You must be confused, so I'll start from the beginning. I hope you'll come to understand.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ January 10th, 2003 (One year earlier) ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He waltzed in that morning, the same old Jack, the same old Colonel. He grinned at Teal'c, waved at Daniel and smiled at me, that smile I treasured, held close to my heart and desperately hoped was reserved only for me.  
  
It was an average briefing, though I could tell he was bored. He would always clear his throat, shift about in his chair. His feet would bump into mine beneath the table, and for a moment I would look at him. My face would tell him one thing, my eyes another.  
  
He always had that effect on me. I would start off in the morning feeling totally rational and military-ish, but after spending a day with him, I would be different. Sometimes this was a good thing, others it was   
  
bad.  
  
When the briefing was over, he was practically running out of the room when Hammond stopped us.  
  
"Colonel, I'd like you to know that we have a new officer joining us tomorrow. A colonel."  
  
"Really?" He'd said, his face a painful grimace. I imagined that he was thinking about welcoming lunches, going for drinks after work. I was impressed that he didn't cringe.  
  
"She's a fine officer, Jack. Transferred from the Pentagon, would you believe?"  
  
"She?" Jack had squeaked. That was the point where I'd wanted to hit him. He was such a man, found it hard to believe that a woman could transfer into the military. He should've learned his lesson with me. No such luck.  
  
"Yes, son," Hammond had smiled, "A woman. I'll expect you and SG-1 to meet her, sort of…"  
  
"Babysitting duties?" Jack had snidely replied.  
  
Hammond had snorted. This was so out of character for him that I had almost jumped.  
  
"I don't think you'll be needing to do that," he smiled, "Dismissed."  
  
The next morning, we realised what Hammond was talking about.  
  
Colonel Welling was not a woman to be messed with. She was fairly tall, just a head short of Jack, with brown hair that was curly and always pulled back into a tight plait on the back of her head. Her eyes were the most beautiful deep brown, like Jack's, and her figure was…how could I put this? She wasn't   
  
fat, but she was definitely bigger than I was. Jack said she was well proportioned. I didn't really care.  
  
I was already put out - the fact that we had another female officer joining us was bothering me. Call me jealous if you will, but it was kind of nice being the highest-ranking female officer at the SGC. Now I've been knocked off of my pedestal. Probably serves me right.  
  
Don't be so stupid, I thought, the guys here are your friends - they'll always be your friends, no matter how many attractive new officers come here!  
  
Just over one month later, however, I was beginning to doubt my lenience.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ February 13th, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ms Welling had been with us now for just over a month and she'd already managed to put my back up.  
  
We went out for a drink - celebrating her first successful month with the SGC and welcoming her into our inner circle.   
  
I never got a first-month party. It took almost a year before Colonel O'Neill properly accepted me into SG-1, and even then there was no big thing made of it. Dear, Sam - you're turning into the green-eyed   
  
monster!   
  
She and Jack were over at the bar, ordering our drinks. Damn, I couldn't help but feel jealous of her.   
  
She'd taken her hair down - chocolate brown and shiny, cascading in voluptuous curls to her shoulders. She was wearing a pale pink top with a v-neck, and a loose flowery skirt. She was beautiful.  
  
As I looked down at myself, clad in the same black coat, black trousers, black t-shirt, I felt old. I know there's never been anything real between myself and Jack, nothing other than the touch of a hand, but still - it feels as if everything we ever had has just been taken away by that woman. I didn't even know her name.  
  
As they came back over to our table, I tried to swallow my jealousy and get to know her a little better.   
  
"So…Debbie," Jack had grinned, "Tell us about yourself!"  
  
My good intentions vanished. Debbie? So now he was on a first-name basis? I felt my blood beginning to boil, and raised the glass to my lips in an attempt to stem my anger.  
  
"Oh, I don't want to bore you!" she smiled, and giggled the obnoxious laugh that I had come to despise.  
  
"Nah, that's Carter's job," Jack had replied, shooting a grin my way. I sent him one back, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  
  
Boring? He thinks I'm boring. More boring than Debbie, anyway! I set the glass back down on the table and cast a look at Teal'c. He looked like his eyes were beginning to glaze over, and that thought made me smile. Not everyone was infatuated with Debbie, then.  
  
The rest of the night passed without incident, but as I turned around to say goodnight to Jack I saw him standing close to Debbie, whispering something in her ear. She giggled, and they both looked at me.   
  
Without so much as a goodnight to anyone, I left the bar and quickly crossed the parking lot to my bike. I knew that I shouldn't have been riding it after drinking, but all I cared about was getting away from that place, away from that woman.  
  
As soon as I got home, I shut the door behind me and closed my eyes. Calm down, I thought, you've just had a bad day and she's made it worse.   
  
Consoling myself with this, I went into the bathroom with a shot of whisky and attempted to relax in a bubble bath. However, I knew before I even entered the bathroom that this would not work, and so when I emerged half an hour later just as angry as I was before, I knew that the only cure was to bury myself in   
  
some work.  
  
So I did. For five hours.  
  
~~~~~~~~~ February 20th, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack had a valentine's card from someone this year. Well, gee, I wonder who it could have possibly have been from. Deborah, perhaps?  
  
Well, now I really am being bitchy.  
  
After the incident at the bar, I have noticed a bit of a change in Jack. He's become more energetic, his eyes are a lot brighter and he's generally behaving in a good manner - that is, with everyone except me. He's comparing me to Debbie now, all of the time.  
  
Take yesterday, for instance. He wanted to go on an 'SG-1 bonding trip' apparently, though I expect it would have just been Danny, Teal'c and myself watching the two of them slobber all over each other for the entire night. He suggested a trip to the cinema, which he knows is not my favourite destination, and suggested an equally appalling film to go and see. When I politely declined his offer, he told me that I was boring, and how he wished I could be a bit more like Debbie.  
  
I held my tongue this time - next time he might not be so lucky. Next time, he's going to get his life history read to him.  
  
As I sat at home last night, trying to finish a report, my mind drifted again to Jack. I remembered the time when we were stranded in Antarctica together, when he was so badly hurt and we were both dying of hypothermia. I suppose our relationship developed from that point on, all the way through five or six years, and now it's suddenly become nonexistent again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~March 15th, 2003~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I'd like to be able to tell you that I like Debbie - that I don't have a problem with her at all when she's on her own. I'm sorry, but that would just be a lie. I'm not used to these feelings of jealousy that I'm experiencing, and I don't like them. Maybe that's why he's changed - maybe it leaks out of my pores. It's just that for as long as I can remember, he's been a good friend to me. He's made me laugh, taught me how to be a fine officer but also a friend.  
  
In the month that has gone by, Jack and Debbie have got closer - but Jack and I have been drifting further apart.   
  
To tell you the truth, I'm scared. I'm scared of being alone, of not being with him any more. I know that I've always been the geeky scientist that he didn't want on his team, let alone as his 2IC, but I know that he got over that - he came to respect me for the person that I was.  
  
What has changed?  
  
I'll tell you what's changed - Debbie has changed. She's changed everything, and it's all worked to her advantage.  
  
What I wasn't prepared for was the realisation that my feelings for my commanding officer were totally unrequited. That came in the form of a school-cliché moment in the locker room after my latest mission with SG-1.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~The Locker Room~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I'd stepped into the shower and was letting the water droplets cascade down my back, the scalding temperature helping to clear my mind as well as my body from the thoughts that were certain to drive me   
  
insane.   
  
What I failed to notice as I was in the shower was that Debbie had entered and was standing just out of my sight in the corner of the room. I slowly shampooed my hair, enjoying the smell of honeysuckle and   
  
the warmth of the water on my body.  
  
Debbie just stood there, watching and waiting.  
  
When I got out of the shower and went over to my locker, I turned around with a start to realise that I was   
  
being watched, and that I was being watched by Debbie.  
  
"What the hell are you doing in here?" I remember I asked, my voice more of a squeak.  
  
"Same thing you are, hon," she replied in her silky voice.  
  
I turned my back to her and tried to get dressed.  
  
"That's an interesting scar you've got there on your shoulder, hon," Debbie had continued, "How'd that   
  
happen?"  
  
I wasn't about to tell her that Jonas had taken a knife to me during the third week of our engagement - I hadn't told anybody that, apart from Jack, and she was certainly not going to know.  
  
"I…I had an accident," I had lied, pulling on my trousers and hoping that she would leave.  
  
"An accident involving a knife and your fiancé?" she'd smirked.  
  
I bit my lip and forced myself not to turn around.  
  
"Jack told me," she had smiled, "He told me that you used to have some trouble."  
  
"Did he now?" I asked, trying to stem the flow of fear and hate that rose in me at the same time.  
  
"Yes," Debbie had continued, with that smirk plastered on her face, "He's told me a lot about you."  
  
I pulled my tank top over my head and sat down, still trying to ignore her.  
  
"He's dreadfully embarrassed, you know."  
  
I frowned. "Embarrassed of what?"  
  
"Of having his 2IC trail around behind him with her tongue hanging out for all these years!" Debbie   
  
concluded.  
  
I still remember the look of pleasure on her face when she said that to me. I remember how that shot went home, and I blushed bright red.  
  
"He's really not interested, you know," she hadn't finished yet, "There's just so much about you that he doesn't like."  
  
"There's also a lot about he that he does," I said defensively.  
  
Debbie had folded her arms and looked at me carefully.  
  
"Name something," she challenged, "In fact, name three things and I'll give you an award!"  
  
"He likes the way he can depend on me," I said, hoping that my voice did not betray the fear that I felt.  
  
"He likes the way that I'm not afraid to say what's on my mind," I continued.  
  
Debbie laughed.  
  
That laugh has stayed with me for all of this time.  
  
"He likes the way that you talk constantly about something he never understands?" Another giggle, "He likes the way that he can depend on you to get captured and infested by a Goa'uld symbiote at least once every year?"  
  
I swallowed. Damn this woman - why was she doing this to me?  
  
"Face it, hon, you've never been anything more than the annoying scientist who talks too much and gets into trouble too often. You've never been anything more than that whore who tried to seduce him in this   
  
very locker room in the first month that you knew each other. You're nothing."  
  
I felt like I was back in the fourth grade, being bullied in the school toilets.  
  
"Go to hell," I'd somehow managed to choke out.  
  
"Oh, don't take my word for it," Debbie had continued, taking a tape recorder from her pocket and chucking it to me, "Go ahead and have a listen!"  
  
I'd stood there with the miniscule player in my hand, wishing that she would leave me alone. After a while, I realised that she wasn't going to and reluctantly pressed the play button.  
  
"Carter?" It was the Colonel's voice. I had instantly wondered about sabotage, if Debbie had somehow managed to superimpose his voice into the recording.  
  
"She's just so…boring, I suppose the word is. She spends all of her time shut up in that lab of hers doing science projects - like the proper high school geek."  
  
My heart had plummeted at these words. I still wasn't sure whether I could believe that the Colonel himself had said this, or if it was just a horrible trick that Debbie had devised to get me out of the way.   
  
"My type? No! I wouldn't date her, she's not my type at all. No, I'd like to date someone with a social life."  
  
I pressed the stop button, and looked at Debbie.  
  
"Just exactly what are you trying to achieve?" I had asked.  
  
"I'm trying to tell you the obvious, hon," she smiled, "He doesn't love you - stop chasing him."  
  
She leant over me and pressed the play button again.  
  
"And the techno babble! Agh, will she ever shut up? You know, she once had a conversation with me for fifteen minutes and I actually fell asleep and she didn't notice. It's just…it's actually become annoying over the years. That, and her being occupied by a Goa'uld ever year."  
  
I pressed stop again, this time I'd had enough. Pulling on my jacket and grabbing the tape recorder, I left the locker room and ran for the safety and sanctuary of my lab.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~20th June, 2003~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Three months later, and I was still at the SGC. I was still having to watch Jack and Debbie swooning over each other, and I still had that tape recorder in my lab. The pain was beginning to soften now, but only just, and it was still there every time I looked at him.  
  
Every time, I could hear his voice in my head, saying that I was boring and how he wished that I would shut up. This did not make it easy for me to get on with him, and even General Hammond was beginning to notice some friction between us.  
  
So much, in fact, that I was called into his office for a 'talk.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~General Hammond's Office~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Major, please have a seat," the General had said, a serious expression upon his face.  
  
"Yes, sir," I replied.  
  
"Major, I have noticed that you and Colonel O'Neill have been experiencing a few difficulties with regard to communication, and with your working together."  
  
"Yes, sir," I had replied again, like a parrot.  
  
"Can you shed any light on this for me, or am I going to have to call Colonel O'Neill in here myself?"  
  
"General, there isn't really anything to explain," I had said, squirming in my seat and trying to throw him. It really didn't work.  
  
"Major, I'm not a fool. If you are having trouble with Colonel O'Neill, then I can transfer him…"  
  
"No!" I said, suddenly, surprising even myself, "If you're going to transfer one of us, make it me."  
  
"Major, what's brought all this on?" Hammond asked me carefully, "I just…"  
  
He was interrupted by the phone ringing. As he sat there and spoke, I tried to think of a way that I could get out of my current situation. None seemed to arise, and I was preparing myself for a full dressing-down from Hammond until he put the phone down.  
  
"Major, I'm afraid that this news is going to irritate you." He said. I knew what he was talking about before the words were even out of his mouth - or rather, who he was talking about.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~ Carter's Lab ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I know what you're going to think. Yes, I suppose I'm hiding from the inevitable. Running from the truth. He will be here any minute and he couldn't have had worse timing. Why the Russians repeatedly keep shipping him back and forth is beyond me.   
  
Doctor Rodney McKay. Don't get me wrong, he's a brilliant scientist - and hell, I even kissed him the last time we were together! It's just…I don't know if I can cope with him on top of Deborah and Jack. It's not like I have much choice in the matter.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~ The Control Room ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hello, sexy!"  
  
I turned around and forced a smile for Rodney as he bounded back into the control room. Inside I was cringing, as Debbie and Jack were in the corner of the room.   
  
"Doctor, always a pleasure," I shot back, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. He caught sight of the two lovebirds in the corner and looked questioningly at me. I gave him a shrug, and told him that I'd explain it to him later.   
  
His initial reaction had served to raise my mood somewhat. He clearly thought the same of her as I did - and he'd only known her for a couple of minutes. Of course she was soon off on one, trying to turn him against me. If only she'd known who she was up against.   
  
"Doctor McKay?" she asked, moving away from Jack to stand closer to him.   
  
"That's my name," he replied cockily, looking at her with an expression of amusement.   
  
"You must be good at your job," she continued, "If you've been assigned here."  
  
"I'm the best scientist in the world," McKay boasted, looking smug. I tried not to smile.   
  
"Oh, but I think Major Carter might disagree with you," Deborah replied, acidly.   
  
"Yeah," McKay agreed, "That's half the fun of it!"  
  
Debbie smarted at her insult falling flat. I started to feel relieved that McKay was here, and I really never thought that I would say that.   
  
"Come on, Major," he said, practically filling the room with his bravado, "We've got to go save the world!"  
  
With that, he swept out of the room. I had no choice but to follow him, and I noticed that he was heading for my lab. How did he know where it was?   
  
"So…I need details," he said, seating himself on my chair.   
  
"You're as bad as Janet," I smirked, sitting opposite him.   
  
"The wrinkled old fossil?" He asked, "And the woman, of course."  
  
I laughed. Relieved that I could finally talk to someone, I began to fill him in on the details.   
  
"The old fossil and the woman are an item," I told him, "Her name is Debbie, and…"  
  
"And she looks like she could crush a truck between her thighs," McKay exclaimed.   
  
With a snort, I carried on.   
  
"Yes, they've been together for about four, five months now, and in that time she has developed a healthy dislike for me."  
  
"Surely not," McKay quipped.   
  
"Funny. A comedian." My expression was serious again, and I think he finally realised that something was bothering me.  
  
"What's been going on?" he asked.  
  
I sat there, looking across at the man I had once considered to be my arch rival. True, there was still a part of me that was greatly irritated by him, but there was another part of me that liked him, that felt akin to him.   
  
"She's…uh…let's just say that she's been rubbing it in. Quite roughly."  
  
"Rubbing what in?" McKay asked, playing dumb.  
  
"Don't make me say it," I warned him. He held up his hands in defeat.   
  
"Okay, okay, but surely the crusty colonel still likes you? I mean, he still cops a feel now and again? He still stares at your butt?"  
  
I smiled sadly.  
  
"No. She has a…tape of him, saying things about me that I don't really like."  
  
That got his attention. Why the hell was I telling him this? Doctor McKay?   
  
"What things?" He asked. "This could be serious."  
  
"It's not going to get serious," I replied, "I'll just let the two of them get on with it, but it has been wearing me down…"  
  
"What did he say?" McKay pressed. For a scary moment, I thought I could see concern in his face.   
  
"He said that I was boring, that I spoke too much and had no social life. He said he was embarrassed by me."  
  
McKay made a rude sound.   
  
"Boring? Tell him to get back in his bath chair!"  
  
"It's not just him - I was in the shower, and his lady friend was in there watching me…"  
  
"Lucky git," McKay smirked, looking up at me. I closed my eyes in disgust and tried to ignore the mental image that presented itself.   
  
"Anyway, she gave me a tongue-lashing the minute I got out. She said pretty much the same things as him, played me the tape and called me a whore."  
  
"My god," McKay said, genuinely shocked, "She really has it in for you, doesn't she?"  
  
"I hadn't noticed," I replied dryly. "I'm just hoping that she'll get bored of it."  
  
"You shouldn't have to," he said, deadly serious now, "I mean it, Major. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but…"  
  
"Doctor, I never thought I would say this, and I still wonder whether I will regret it or not later, but it's good to have you back. I feel like I have…a friend."  
  
He smiled. Not one of his patronising smiles, or one of his 'I'm so right and you're so wrong' ones. It was a genuine smile.   
  
"Likewise. Now, about watching you in the shower…"  
  
"Don't push your luck, doctor," I warned him, even though I couldn't help but laugh.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 30th June, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Doctor McKay has become a regular member of our scientific team. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is probably too early to say. General Hammond was quite literally gob smacked when I agreed to working with him. Perhaps it's a testimony to how bad things have got between me and the colonel.  
  
It also seems that McKay has made Debbie's bad list. Her insults roll off of him like water off a duck's back - so why doesn't it do that with me? I try to be civil, but she always cuts me off. Even the colonel is doing it now. I was especially concerned when we had to take on a mission that was expected to last for a couple of weeks.   
  
"I'll kill you now," McKay offered.   
  
"That's helpful," I replied, sitting back down.   
  
"It's just 2 weeks," he said, "How bad could it be?"  
  
I laughed a humourless laugh. He really had no idea. Mentally, I was blessing him for trying to help, but in my heart I knew it would be terrible. At least I would have Teal'c and Danny there.  
  
"It'll be bad." I told him.   
  
"Well, my offer is still open…we could have a lover's suicide." He grinned.   
  
"Now, for that we would have to be lovers," I shot back.   
  
"Hey," he said, leaning back on his chair, "I'm ready when you are, sexy!"  
  
I picked up a heavy book and threw it at him.   
  
"I'll see you in a couple of weeks."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ The Mission ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I tried to stay with Teal'c and Daniel for as much time as I could, but someone had the not-so-smart idea of pairing me with her. In a tent. The guys shared one, the girls shared one. I was literally shaking by the time night fell.   
  
Pull yourself together, I thought. She's just another woman. You're being pathetic - it's no wonder the Colonel is getting so irritated. So I headed for my bed, wishing Teal'c, Danny and Jack a good night. She was there, waiting for me. Like a lion watching its prey, toying with it in its moments before death.   
  
"So nice for us to be sharing, don't you think?" She smirked.   
  
"Delightful," I replied coldly, rolling over in my sleeping bag and closing my eyes, trying to shut her out.   
  
"Going to sleep so soon? I thought we could compare notes!" She laughed.   
  
"I left them at home," I said, praying that she would fall asleep quickly. My prayers went unanswered, and she continued to taunt me.   
  
"Poor Major Carter," she whispered softly, patronisingly, "You never really had a chance, did you? Infected with a Goa'uld, cursed when it comes to men, susceptible to alien viruses - it's no wonder he got fed up with you. Your problem is that you're weak."  
  
I bit my lip, trying to imagine what McKay's response would have been. It scared me how much I was relying on the thought of him to get me through the day. I was supposed to hate him, after all.   
  
Sleep did not come my way that night. When Daniel came to wake me for my watch, which was the last, he found me already dressed and waiting. He asked me if I was okay, so I lied and told him I was. He was too tired to question me further.   
  
I sat by the fire, cradling my weapon to my chest. As I remembered her harsh words, like a river of poison in my ear, I felt my body slump a little. A tear began to fall from my eye, but I wiped it harshly away. I was not going to let myself get upset by her, no way.   
  
Lying again, Samantha, always lying. The tears came again, and this time I did nothing to stop them.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 0600 Hours, the last day of the mission ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I had last watch again. The Sandman was throwing no sand my way for the fourth night in a row, and it was beginning to show. Unsuccessfully, I had tried to stop crying, and was embarrassed when Jack emerged from his tent to see me in such a state.   
  
"You been crying, major?" He asked.   
  
There was no concern in his face. There was no worry in his question. He didn't care. He was just looking for gossip to tell his new lover.   
  
"I really would appreciate it," he began, "If you would get over your feelings for me."  
  
I was incensed. At that moment, I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit him, over and over again. I wanted to hit her, I wanted them both out of my life.   
  
"You son of a bitch," I said quietly. As it turns out, it wasn't quietly enough.  
  
"What did you say?" He asked, turning back to face me, his hands on his hips.  
  
"You heard," I replied, standing up so that I was almost at his eye level.  
  
"That's insubord…" he began. I cut him off, the words coming out in an angry, anguished tide that I no longer had any control of.  
  
"I understand that my feelings for you were unrequited," I began, "And I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable, but this has gone too far."  
  
"You're telling me!" He said, his voice raising, "I have a new life now, Major, one that does not involve you!"  
  
"Oh, but it does!" I yelled back, "You keep dredging up the past for the sole purpose of rubbing it in my face. I am OVER you, but you're clearly not over yourself."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" He shouted.  
  
"Your sweet, innocent Deborah!" I said, "You and her have been doing a fine job of making me feel this big!" I held up my fingers to show him.  
  
"You're overreacting," He said, frowning, "I haven't said anything against you!"  
  
"Oh, give me a break!" I yelled, "Carter, why can't you be more like Debbie? Carter, you're boring, Carter, you talk too much! I've had enough!"  
  
"You're talking rubbish," he snarled, "Maybe Deborah has been saying these things to you, but I haven't. I just want you to get over your feelings for me! I don't love you!"  
  
I started to cry. Not from sadness, you must understand, but from anger.   
  
"You can't even tell me the truth. Not when you're breaking our friendship in two. Not when you're hurting me so badly!"  
  
"What truth?" He shouted, agitated, "I don't know what you're…"  
  
Without speaking, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tape player. He looked at it blankly. I pressed play, ignoring the fact that the others had been woken by our argument. The more people who heard it, the better.   
  
"She's just so…boring, I suppose the word is. She spends all of her time shut up in that lab of hers doing science projects - like the proper high school geek."   
  
His face began to pale slightly. The recording continued.  
  
"My type? No! I wouldn't date her, she's not my type at all. No, I'd like to date someone with a social life."  
  
Daniel's mouth formed an 'o'. I looked right at the colonel, who wasn't looking so confident any more.   
  
"And the techno babble! Agh, will she ever shut up? You know, she once had a conversation with me for fifteen minutes and I actually fell asleep and she didn't notice. It's just…it's actually become annoying over the years. That, and her being occupied by a Goa'uld ever year."  
  
I stopped the recording. Jack O'Neill had three pairs of eyeballs looking very angrily at him. The other pair was looking worried.  
  
"I wouldn't have minded as much…" I sniffed, swallowing back another sob, "If you had told me to my face. But instead, you've gone behind my back, you've insulted me, you've made jokes about me, and you've made out that I'm the one with the problem."  
  
"Carter," he stammered, "I…"  
  
"You've stood there and laughed at me. You and your girlfriend have done nothing short of bully me, and I have had enough of it. I am OVER you, Colonel, but I'm not going to apologise for my feelings. I loved you once - but never again. Never again."  
  
With that, I turned around and walked into the bushes. I didn't care if there was an ambush waiting for me, I wouldn't have cared if there was some wild animal lurking in the bushes. All I could feel was pain.   
  
"Good one, Jack," Daniel snapped, and followed me.   
  
"I did not believe that you could stoop so low," Teal'c said, and went after Daniel.   
  
I am sure that the conversation between Jack and Debbie that ensued was not a pleasant one, but it didn't matter to me any more. I had said what I needed to say, it was off of my chest and I felt liberated, free.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the SGC ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
General Hammond didn't seem surprised when I asked to be removed from active duty, and returned to my post as senior science officer. He didn't even ask for an explanation, it was as if he had been expecting it. Confused, I questioned him.   
  
"Sir? You're not going to ask me why?"  
  
"I'm not blind, Major, and nor are half of the officers at this facility. I'm sorry for what you've been through, and I assure you that the relevant court martials will be carried out."  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Don't do it, General. As long as I can work in my lab, with my science projects, that's enough for me. I don't want to watch them suffer."  
  
"But, Major…" General Hammond countered, shocked.  
  
"I mean it, General. Please - just leave them be."  
  
With that, I headed for my office. Well, technically it wasn't just 'my' office any more. McKay, during the mission I was away for, had managed to blow up his own, breaking his arm in the process. He was now sharing mine.   
  
"How'd it go?" He asked me.  
  
"Good," I said, "As of now, I am a scientist, and no longer a member of SG-1."  
  
"That's a little sad, don't you think?" McKay asked.   
  
"I will miss parts of it," I agreed, "But this is a fresh start for me. A chance to begin again, to draw another line - and not to go round and round in the same circle."  
  
"Amen to that," McKay agreed. "Now, about becoming lovers…"  
  
"Like I said, doctor, don't push it. I might have just resigned from SG-1, but there is nothing wrong with my sanity. Or my self-respect."  
  
"Ouch," he winced.   
  
I just smirked at him.   
  
THE END  
  
Author Notes: Feedback is really appreciated. This story is a bit different to my others, and I want to know what you think. Please send it to jm-webmistress@fsmail.net 


	2. Circles of the Mind

Title: Circles of the Mind  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback: jm-webmistressfsmail.net   
  
Spoilers: You need to have read 'Full Circle.'  
  
Summary: Sequel to 'Full Circle'. When they are captured by a system lord, Debbie's inexperience puts Sam at risk, and Jack begins to question the decision he made.   
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season. MCKAY WARNING: He really is nice in this one, so if you don't like him, don't read it.   
  
Author Notes: Many thanks to NG, who's been great for a very long time, and FinallyAssimilated, who's also a great writer and deserves more credit! Now, on with the story…  
  
Archive: Heliopolis, Gateworld, Fanfiction.net  
  
Circles of the Mind   
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
McKay had just laughed.   
  
Being the bastard that he was, Sam hadn't expected any less. She certainly hadn't expected any more. Working with him for two years had led to the two of them getting to know an awful lot more about each other.  
  
She still couldn't decide whether this was a good or bad thing.   
  
When Hammond had told her, a familiar sinking feeling had filled her, a mixture of fear and pain twisting in her gut. Why he'd asked her to do it was beyond her - he knew full well what had gone on between Jack, Debbie and herself two years ago. Yet he still called her into his office on that fateful morning and told her that they needed a chief science officer for the mission.  
  
Somehow, she doubted very much that she was needed on Jack's mission. Since she resigned from her post as acting 2IC of SG-1, all forms of communication between the two of them had broken down. She didn't even want to think about coming face to face with Colonel Welling again.   
  
She looked back at the smirk on McKay's face, which was currently the size of Las Vegas and still growing.   
  
"That promises to be a fun trip!" he grinned, swivelling around on his chair.  
  
"Fun? That's not the word I'd use," Sam glowered, fiddling with a pen.  
  
"How about you take a video camera with you," McKay suggested, "I could watch your abject misery and give you helpful tips on how to survive."  
  
"And watch me when I'm asleep? I don't think so, Mr Pervert," Sam smiled.  
  
"Mr Pervert, eh?" McKay asked, thoughtfully. "I haven't been called that before!"  
  
"Here's a 'helpful tip'," Sam said sweetly, "Unless you want me to kill you between now and tomorrow, I'd keep your mouth zipped. Got it?"  
  
"Do I only have to keep my mouth zipped?" He smirked, waggling his eyebrows.  
  
Sam couldn't help but smile, in spite of herself.  
  
"You really are incurable, aren't you?"  
  
"How about that lover's suicide I suggested before?" he continued, "I know you were initially opposed, but…"  
  
"In your dreams, lover boy," Sam grinned, standing up and walking out of the lab. She didn't need to turn around to imagine the look on McKay's face after what she'd just called him.   
  
"SG-1, you have a go," said Hammond, looking nervously down at the five people on the ramp. Jack and Colonel Welling looked grim, Teal'c looked…like Teal'c, and Daniel and Sam looked nervous too.   
  
"Yes, sir, we'll report back 0900 hours Thursday," Jack said, and stalked through the gate as quickly as possible, Ms Welling on his tail.   
  
Teal'c went next, casting Sam a reassuring smile as he went through. Finally, only Sam and Daniel remained on the ramp.   
  
"Don't worry," he smiled, "Teal'c and I are here this time. I think that they might have grown up a bit now."  
  
They stepped through the gate.  
  
The planet they gated to was full of Jack's favourite…trees. He didn't respond when Daniel tried to make a joke about this, and Sam squeezed his arm reassuringly.   
  
"This isn't about you," she said softly, "It's because I'm here."  
  
Daniel shook his head.  
  
"He's been like this ever since Colonel Welling arrived," Daniel replied, "It's nothing to do with you or me. It's her."  
  
Sam nodded, and the pair trudged on, the hot sun beating down on their backs like a hot shower, but much less comfortable.   
  
An hour later, they stopped and set up their camp. Colonel Welling had flatly refused to share a tent with Sam again, not that Sam had any objection, which had put Jack in an even worse mood than before.   
  
"Carter, you've only been back on this team for two hours and you're already pissing off my 2IC!" He complained.   
  
Sam gritted her teeth and bit back a sarcastic reply that had been forming in her mouth. Let him whinge - it was his problem, not hers. Instead she just turned around and went over to help Teal'c with the dinner.   
  
Later, when they were all asleep, Sam turned over in her empty tent and sighed thoughtfully. It was quite lonely, she had to admit, as she had been so used to sharing it with Jack. The thought made her angry and she turned over, beating her jacket into a better pillow shape. She didn't need him…or her.   
  
When Daniel woke her for her watch a few hours later, she sat by the fire with a mug of coffee, enjoying the peace that the night brought. She noticed that Jack had given her the third watch - the most difficult, because you were disturbed halfway through sleep and it wasn't worth trying to get any more afterwards - probably out of spite. God, he was such a child.   
  
She cast an eye over in the direction of the tent that they shared. He and Colonel Welling. Hammond would flip if he ever found out. She smirked a little as she toyed with the idea of grassing them up, but then looked back at the fire, slightly ashamed. The two of them were the ones that played games, not her. No, that would be lowering herself to their level.  
  
She wanted some of her pride intact by the end of the mission.   
  
When the sun rose a couple of hours later, Sam was still sitting by the fire. Colonel Welling had never turned up for the last watch. Whilst Sam knew that the senior officer could get in trouble for doing this, she decided that it simply wasn't worth the effort to run against the two of them again and took the watch herself. It wasn't as if she would have gotten any more sleep.   
  
"Morning," Daniel smiled sleepily, as he stumbled towards the coffee pot. Sam grinned at him and handed him a mug.  
  
"Nice to see you're still as dependent on caffeine as I am," she smiled. Daniel nodded and grunted, taking a sip of the steaming liquid and smiling happily.   
  
"I still cannot comprehend how you can consume such a distasteful liquid beverage," Teal'c said, eyeing the coffee pot suspiciously.   
  
"I didn't like it when I was a girl," Sam admitted, "But I was pretty much hooked by the time I was fifteen."  
  
"Bet that's not all you were hooked on," came a snide voice from behind Sam.   
  
Colonel Welling stood with a hand on her hip, casually twirling an empty cup between her fingers and smiling at Sam.   
  
Sam sighed and ran a hand through her hair.   
  
"Do we have to go through this ordeal every time, Colonel, or shall we just leave each other alone?" She snapped.   
  
"God knows what you were getting high on," Debbie continued, "Losing a parent creates such instability for a child."  
  
Daniel stood up and glared at Debbie.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" He shouted, "You can't go saying things like that!"  
  
Sam put a reassuring hand on Daniel's shoulder and lowered him to a seating position again.  
  
"Leave it, Daniel," she pleaded.   
  
Before Debbie could continue, Jack also emerged from their tent with a scowl on his face.   
  
"What the hell is going on now? Carter, I suppose you're behind this…"  
  
"Actually, Jack," Daniel snapped, "Your 2IC and lovebird was making highly unprofessional comments about…"  
  
"I'll warn you, doctor," Debbie said acidly, "I could have you court-martialled for saying that."  
  
This time it was Daniel's turn to smirk.   
  
"Go ahead! I'm a civilian! I'd like to see you try!"   
  
"Why are you so keen on defending her?" Debbie said, her eyes trained on Daniel's, "A shared experience, perhaps? Did your parents die when you were young?"  
  
Daniel's mouth set in a grim line, and he turned away from her.   
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, how insensitive of me," Debbie sneered.  
  
"I do not believe that you are at all sorry," Teal'c replied.   
  
"You know what, big man? I don't care!" Debbie laughed. "Jeez, Jack - how did you ever work with these people for seven years?"  
  
Daniel stalked off into the surrounding forest. Sam went after him, feeling guilty. This was her mess, not Daniel's. Debbie had no right to bring him into this. Damn her. Damn HIM.   
  
You could have cut the tension between the group with a knife. They trudged back towards the Stargate in complete silence that was only broken when there was a loud rumbling noise behind them.   
  
"Crap!" Jack cursed, as the familiar shape of a Goa'uld mother ship descended onto the planet's surface.   
  
"There is no time to reach the Stargate, O'Neill!" Teal'c informed him.   
  
"What are we going to do, Colonel?" Debbie asked, her hand moving instinctively towards her gun.  
  
"We need to split up," he said. "Danny Boy, Teal'c - you try and reach the gate. Carter, Debbie - you're with me."  
  
"But Jack," Daniel protested, "Splitting up?"  
  
"Dammit, Daniel, do you want to survive this or not?" Jack snapped.   
  
"Let us make haste, Daniel Jackson. If we reach Earth, we will be able to send reinforcements for the others."  
  
So they went. As Sam watched the backs of her two team mates disappearing over the horizon, a feeling of dread washed over her. She really was on her own now.   
  
"What are we going to do?" Sam asked, reaching for her own weapon.  
  
"Be quiet!" Debbie snapped, "Let the poor man think! No wonder he got tired of you!"  
  
Sam bit her lip and clenched her hand into a fist at her side. She was determined not to let Debbie get to her.   
  
"We need to defend our position. If we can take out the jaffa, we might be able to get inside…"  
  
"Why the hell would we want to do that?" Sam asked, throwing caution to the wind.   
  
"Look, Carter, if you want to hurry back to your cosy little lab with Dr McKay, it's a bit late. You're in the field again now, and you're going to do what I say. Got it?" Jack yelled.   
  
Sam was silent. Sure, let him get the three of them killed. At least the Goa'uld had a sarcophagus. She wondered if they'd let her borrow it. Even in the seriousness of the moment, Sam found the image of asking a System Lord for rent of a sarcophagus quite amusing, and had to bite her lip so she didn't laugh.   
  
"With me," Jack said, skirting around the perimeter and watching as the giant ship came to a halt, sand and earth blowing up around it in huge clouds.   
  
The ship opened, and they heard the familiar noise of jaffa footsteps. The sand did little to muffle their danger, and Sam felt adrenaline begin coursing through her veins.   
  
"How many?" Debbie asked, peering through the cover of a large shrub.   
  
"At least 12," Sam replied, "I think there could be more."  
  
"Did I ask you?" Debbie said, hotly.   
  
Sam frowned at the woman next to her.  
  
"Do you not think you could lay aside your intense hatred of me for just a second? There are slightly more important things going on here, Colonel."  
  
"Would the pair of you just shut up?" Jack snapped.   
  
The three watched as a Goa'uld emerged from the ship, flanked on all sides by jaffa. He was disturbingly familiar to two of them.   
  
"They have been here," he smiled, "And I believe that some of them remain. Search this place - but don't kill them. I want them alive!"  
  
"Yes, my lord," the voices echoed.   
  
"You plan on getting aboard the ship now?" Sam asked, speaking directly to the Colonel.   
  
He looked back at her, a mixed expression on his face that she had hardly seen before.   
  
"You don't have to go through it again," Sam said evenly, "You could probably reach the gate…"  
  
"And do what?" He asked, "Leave you here?"  
  
"We could follow later," Sam suggested. Debbie looked indignantly between the two of them.   
  
"Just what the hell are you talking about?" She asked.   
  
"I'll explain later, keep your damned voice down!" Jack said, in a harsh whisper. He looked at Sam. "If we go, we all go together."  
  
Sam felt something. A familiar presence, a twinge she knew only too well.   
  
"Damn," she cursed.   
  
"Indeed," an amused voice replied, "Such a pleasure to meet you again, Colonel O'Neill. And you must be Major Carter - such a shame you did not feel my presence until it was too late. And who is this? Another female. I do not believe we have been acquainted. I am Lord Ba'al. Surrender your weapons immediately."  
  
Sam looked at the Colonel, who stubbornly refused to let go of his gun. Sam lowered hers to the ground, refusing to make eye contact with the Goa'uld. Dammit, she should have felt his presence a thousand miles away!   
  
"Colonel, I strongly advise you to relinquish your weapon. You know how miserable I am capable of making your pathetic existence." He smirked at Jack.   
  
Jack laid his weapon on the ground, and motioned for Debbie to do the same. Then, they stood up.   
  
"Chain them," Ba'al commanded, "Do not allow them to escape - use any methods necessary to prevent this, but do not kill them. I want them alive."  
  
Sam shuddered, and bit back a cry as she was shoved in the back by a jaffa and her wrists were chained. She hoped Jack wouldn't try anything heroic again - but at least Danny and Teal'c had got back to the gate.   
  
"Is that a Goa'uld mother ship?" Hammond asked, looking at the remnants of shaky film from the UAV.   
  
"Yes," Daniel said quietly. "It's…um…it's Ba'al."  
  
"Son, you know I cannot authorise a rescue mission to a planet occupied by such a powerful Goa'uld. It risks unnecessary loss of life…"  
  
"What about their lives?" Daniel asked, "Sir, the Colonel has had a run-in with Ba'al before, Deb- Colonel Welling is quite frankly inexperienced with System Lords and Sam…well, you know about Sam!"  
  
"I do, son, but can't you understand my situation?"  
  
Teal'c bowed his head sadly.  
  
"I will inform Dr Fraiser," he said, and began to leave the room with Daniel in tow.   
  
"And Teal'c? Dr Jackson? I'll leave it up to you, but someone really ought to inform Dr McKay. He needs to know that Sam won't be returning for a while."  
  
The cell was small. As Jack had so flippantly put it, the Goa'uld hadn't yet discovered air conditioning so it was hot and sticky. Jack and Debbie were sat close together in one corner, and she in the other. She didn't like to point out that this would make their division more obvious to Ba'al. Frankly, it wasn't worth the earache.   
  
"Why the hell didn't you sense his presence?" Jack asked, casting a look of disdain over at her.   
  
"It's not like a light switch," Sam replied, "You can't just flip it on and off!"  
  
"You usually feel it!" Jack continued, "The one thing I could rely on was for you to feel it!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry I've been such a disappointment," She said sarcastically.   
  
"Not half as sorry as we are," Debbie said.   
  
"Oh, go to hell!" Sam retorted, pulling her knees up to her chest.   
  
Debbie gasped in shock and proceeded to rant about her lack of respect for a superior officer, but Sam blocked it out. She didn't care what Debbie thought, or Jack for that matter. It looked like they were pretty much screwed. She wished that McKay was there - one of his biting comments would have gone down a treat.   
  
Damn, she had to stop thinking about him, wishing he was with her. It was getting scary.   
  
A few moments later, they heard the jaffa approaching again.   
  
"We will take her," one said, pointing at Debbie.   
  
"No, you won't!" Jack defended, "You'll take me."  
  
The jaffa's eyes moved from Jack to Debbie, and then over to Sam.   
  
"Our Lord wishes to see a female," he continued.   
  
Sam rolled her eyes during the silence that followed. I wonder who that female could be! She thought quietly. Jack certainly wasn't leaping to her defence.   
  
"If you cannot decide," the jaffa said, "We will take both. Now!"  
  
Sam stood up with gritted teeth and went over to the waiting jaffa, who slapped her across the cheek, knocking her to the floor. She winced as she tasted blood in her mouth, and wiped it away with her hand. The jaffa smiled, and took the two of them away, leaving Jack in the cell on his own.   
  
"She what?" McKay asked, jumping out of his seat.  
  
"Sam, Colonel Welling and Colonel O'Neill have been taken prisoner by Ba'al." Daniel explained.   
  
"Oh, God. What about a r-"  
  
"Hammond can't approve it." Daniel finished.   
  
McKay sat back down in his chair, shoulders slumped.   
  
"What are we supposed to do?" He asked eventually, his eyes meeting Daniel's.   
  
"We wait," Daniel replied, touched to see the amount of concern in the doctor's eyes.   
  
"Your name?"  
  
She said nothing.   
  
"My dear, what harm can I possibly do you by knowing your name?"  
  
She remained silent.   
  
"I have not seen you before. Your Colonel, yes, but not you. How long have you been on SG-1?"  
  
"Go to hell!"  
  
"You have inherited his insolence, I see. Very well, you leave me no choice."  
  
He reached into an ornately carved box and slipped the ribbon device onto his hand. She closed her eyes, knowing exactly how much this was going to hurt. It didn't take long for her screams to die out, her body to crumple to the floor.   
  
"Take her away," Ba'al ordered, "Now I will see the other one."  
  
"Debbie!" Jack exclaimed, as her body was dumped on the floor beside him, "Debbie, can you hear me?"  
  
Slowly, her eyes opened and she looked up into his face.   
  
"Oh my God," she said, her voice trembling, "What the hell just happened to me?"  
  
Jack looked at her forehead, and gently ran a hand through her hair. Relief surged through him like a tide.   
  
"It's okay. He just used the ribbon device. You're alright."  
  
He looked over Debbie's shoulder to see the rest of the empty room.   
  
"Where's Carter?" he asked.   
  
"Major Carter," Ba'al said smoothly, "I have so been looking forwards to meeting you. I have heard much about you."  
  
She said nothing, but kept eye contact with him.   
  
"Perhaps you will tell me who the new woman is? Is she venturing on your patch, my love? Are you jealous of her? Do not tell me that the two of them are not entwined - I feel it. I felt it before, but it was different then."  
  
She bit her lip. Mind games, she reminded herself, don't let him win. Not yet.   
  
"He loved you. I saw it in his mind. But now there is another - tell me, my love, how does this make you feel?"  
  
She stared defiantly at him, holding back a flinch as he moved a step closer to her.   
  
"What must I do to make you speak?" he asked, stroking a hand down her cheek. "I see my jaffa have already marked you - I do apologise."  
  
"Of course you do," She replied.   
  
"She speaks," he smiled, "And oh, so like the other two. But you are not with them, are you? They would sooner leave you to die here than be separated. Slowly and painfully."  
  
"Well, why don't you just do it?"  
  
"Do what, my love?" Ba'al asked.   
  
"Kill me. If you know that the other two don't care, why don't you just kill me now? You can't use me to get information out of them. It won't work any more."  
  
"Perhaps not," Ba'al said, turning his back on her and pacing up and down the small length of the chamber, "But maybe I will be able to use them to get information out of you."  
  
Damn, Sam thought. Way to go for putting that idea into his head! You're literally digging your own grave…except for the fact that he won't actually let you be dead…  
  
He laughed suddenly, as if he had been reading her thoughts. He reached into another box and pulled out a gleaming dagger. Sam's heart began to beat faster.   
  
"Tell me, my love - did he ever tell you of the things I did to him? Did he tell you how I kept him alive? No? Well, now you will get the pleasure of knowing for yourself."  
  
He held the dagger up by the hilt, and gravity pulled the blade towards her. The knife was hanging in mid air. Sam closed her eyes as he let go of the dagger, waiting for the sickening crack as metal met bone and flesh.  
  
She was unprepared for it when it came, and cried out. She heard him laughing as a warmth spread over her upper body, but became aware of nothing as the darkness enveloped her.   
  
McKay paced around his lab, clasping his hands together to stop them from shaking. He didn't get upset! He never got scared, and he certainly never got lonely!   
  
The clock read 0201. He sat down at the desk and looked at the computer screen. Everything around him reminded him of her, which made the pain worse.   
  
Dammit, he did miss her. Two years of working with her had changed his outlook on a lot of things. It had changed his outlook on her.   
  
She was everything he wasn't. He was everything she wasn't. Together they made a great team - but apart they were incomplete.   
  
What the hell was he thinking? He didn't need her - he didn't need anybody! He had got himself where he was today, with nobody else's help.   
  
God, how he missed her.  
  
Jack woke up when he heard the cell door being slammed shut, and the jaffa were walking away. He looked down at Debbie who was asleep against his shoulder, but then his eye fell on the other figure in the corner of the cell.   
  
Carter.  
  
He looked down at Debbie again, anxious not to wake her. He looked back over at Carter, who wasn't moving.   
  
"Carter?" He called.   
  
No response.   
  
"Carter?" He tried again.   
  
Reluctantly, he removed his shoulder from underneath Debbie and laid her down the floor, crawling over to where Sam was slumped.   
  
"Carter," he whispered, gently taking hold of her shoulder and rolling her onto her back, "Carter, dammit! Wake up!"  
  
He looked down at her, and saw a familiar shaped hole in the front of her shirt. A chill ran up his spine.   
  
Knives.  
  
He's using knives again.   
  
All the pain he had felt came rushing back to him in a moment, and he looked down at the woman by his side. He knew how much pain she would have been in. He knew how scared she would have been.  
  
But he was supposed to be angry with her. Hate her - hell, he even let his 2IC bully her.   
  
All he wanted to do at that moment was hold her. Feeling suddenly helpless, he sat back on his legs and stared at her.   
  
What the hell had he done?   
  
When Sam woke up, she found herself in someone's arms. She jumped and tried to wriggle free, unsure who it was.   
  
"Ssh, Carter - relax. It's me," Jack's voice said.   
  
Sam was filled with anger and confusion. Jack? What the hell was he doing holding her?  
  
"Let go of me!" She protested.   
  
"Carter, it's me - what's wrong? What did he do to you?"  
  
"I know who you are," Sam snapped, "You and your lady friend over there have made my life a misery these past few years!"  
  
Jack abruptly let go of her, and turned her to face him.  
  
"Carter, please just let me explain myself," he began.  
  
"Why should I believe that you've changed?" She said, her voice trembling and her hand moving to the spot on her chest that ached terribly, "You've just flipped a switch and now you like me again?"  
  
"It's not like that," Jack began, looking back over his shoulder at Debbie, who was still unconscious.  
  
"It IS like that. What are you going to do when she wakes up, hmm? Go back to hating me again?" Sam demanded, wincing as the pain in her chest intensified.   
  
At that moment, Debbie began to stir. Jack cast a look back at Debbie, and then to Sam, desperation in his eyes.   
  
"Carter.."  
  
"Please, Jack," Sam said softly, curling up in the corner again, "Just leave me alone. I've gotten used to it."  
  
Jack looked at her sadly, before reluctantly turning around and going back to his corner of the cell. Sam noticed, however, that he didn't fuss over Debbie as she came around again. What the hell was he doing to her? She wished he'd make up his mind.   
  
McKay sat in the commissary, idly pushing his fork around in the mashed potato. They usually avoided this place, too public and full of the gossips like Kelly and Nina. However, it was almost comforting for him to be around people again, as it stopped him from feeling so desperate. He shouldn't have had reason to in the first place, as he constantly reminded himself. He and Sam were just friends.   
  
"Doctor!" A voice said shrilly.   
  
McKay groaned inwardly and looked up from his mashed potato to see Kelly, the aforementioned SGC gossip queen and resident super bitch. At least, that was how he saw her.   
  
"Why, what a terrific surprise," McKay said dryly.   
  
"So, doctor, how much do you know about Major Carter's disappearance? You must be pretty worried."  
  
McKay shrugged. God, how he hated this woman.   
  
"Does it not bother you," Kelly laughed, "That she's probably being tortured by a system lord at this very moment?"  
  
McKay closed his eyes in pain as a vivid image ran through his head, but said nothing.   
  
"And not just any system lord," Kelly continued thoughtfully, "But Ba'al. He's the meanest of the lot."  
  
"Well, maybe the two of you should meet. Get on like a house on fire, I'm sure," McKay smiled.   
  
"Are you suggesting that it would be a good thing for me to be captured by a system lord?" Kelly squeaked.   
  
"And not just any system lord," McKay smirked, mimicking her perfectly, "But Ba'al. He's the meanest of the lot."  
  
"God, you're such an asshole," Kelly spat, and got up and left the commissary.   
  
"Yep, that's me down to the ground," McKay agreed, raising his glass to Kelly as she disappeared out of the door, before he carried on staring at his mashed potato.   
  
"Now, you still haven't told me your name," Ba'al smiled.   
  
"No, and I'm not going to," Debbie replied, looking at the floor.   
  
"No? Maybe, maybe not. We will see," Ba'al said, pacing backwards and forwards. "Tell me, how do you feel about the other female in your party?"  
  
Debbie thought for a moment. What harm could it do? He'd only use the ribbon device on her again. She'd recovered from that pretty well, and it wasn't as if she was telling him anything important. Maybe he would leave her alone.   
  
"I don't like her," Debbie said, still looking at the floor.   
  
"Oh," Ba'al smiled, pleased that she had so easily fallen into his trap. "Tell me why, my dear."  
  
"Where should I begin?" Debbie asked, still nervous. "Uh…well, it's Jack she annoys more than anyone."  
  
"Really?" Ba'al twisted a dagger in his hand thoughtfully, before putting it back in its box. He wasn't going to waste it on her.   
  
"Yeah, she sort of liked him more than he liked her. He got tired of it in the end. They had an argument, she ran off crying what a surprise."  
  
Debbie looked steadfastly at the floor. Phew, she'd gotten away with it! It didn't look as if he was going to hurt her, and she hadn't given him any important information.   
  
"Thank you, my dear, you have been…most forthcoming," Ba'al smiled.   
  
"But…but I didn't tell you anything," Debbie replied nervously.  
  
"No," Ba'al said, "No. You didn't. Jaffa, return her to the cell. Bring me the other one."  
  
Debbie collapsed down on the floor in a heap next to Jack, blowing out a relieved breath.   
  
"Don't worry," she told Jack, "I didn't tell him anything important."  
  
Sam looked over at Jack, her eyebrows raised. Jack looked back at Debbie.   
  
"What do you mean, anything important?" He asked, panicking slightly.   
  
"Nothing about the SGC, I didn't tell him my name…"  
  
"No, but what did you tell him?" Jack asked, desperate.   
  
At that moment, the jaffa entered again and took Sam away. When the iron door of their cell was once again shut and locked securely, Jack asked Debbie his question again.   
  
"What did you tell him, Debbie?" Jack asked.   
  
"Just stuff that he can't do us any harm with," Debbie said, "You know - just about how you and her fell out, we don't get on, etc. I mean, what can he possibly do with that?"  
  
Jack stood up and began pacing backwards and forwards. He rubbed a hand over his face and back through his hair.   
  
"Jack? Jack, would you calm down! It'd just be like listening to the plot of a soap opera!" Debbie protested. "Sit down!"  
  
"Do you have any idea what he can do with that kind of information?" Jack shouted, "Jesus Christ, Debbie, you don't tell him anything! Especially not anything that makes us look divided - if you single one of us out, make out that there's a break in our chain…"  
  
"But it's her," Debbie said, puzzled, "And I still don't understand what he can…"  
  
"He's a master manipulator," Jack explained. "Gravity, knives, acid…minds! He gets inside your head, and you'll never get him out!"  
  
For once, Debbie was silent. Jack was cursing Ba'al with every expletive under the sun. Damn him for realising that Debbie wouldn't understand his power, for knowing that she was so naïve when it came to the Goa'uld! She'd left Sam in a vulnerable position…and when it came down to it, it was all his fault.   
  
"So nice to see you again, my love," Ba'al purred, as Sam faced him across the room again.   
  
She didn't reply, but forced herself to look into his eyes. She wasn't going to let herself be afraid of him - she had too much at stake. Keep thinking of McKay, she thought. Wait - no! Don't think about McKay! That's the last thing you should be doing!  
  
"Your friend has, I'm afraid, been very informative," he said, pouring some wine into a cup and twirling it between his fingers.   
  
He looked over at her. Still she was refusing to say anything, but she was so different to the other one. She looked him in the eyes - told herself that she wasn't afraid of him. He could sense the remnants of the Tok'ra symbiote within her, and he imagined that she'd been tortured before. He liked this one, better than the others. Hell, better than Jack. Mind you, he had also been very interesting. He looked down at the cup and back into her eyes, taking another step closer.   
  
"She does not like you, does she, my love?" He asked, taking her chin in his hand.   
  
"Not particularly," Sam said, through gritted teeth.   
  
Suddenly, he grabbed her chin and wrenched her mouth open, pouring the wine into her mouth. She gagged and tried to spit it out, but he held his hand over her mouth.   
  
"Swallow it," he growled.   
  
Reluctantly, and only because she was in danger of choking, Sam swallowed the liquid and grimaced. That familiar coppery taste, like treacle sliding down your throat but far less pleasurable.   
  
"Blood of Sokar?" She croaked, "Isn't that a bit pre-historic?"  
  
"It works the same as it has always done," Ba'al told her, "And I am saving the best for last, my love."  
  
"Great," Sam groaned, watching as he stepped back and put his hand into the same ornate box that she had seen before.   
  
He fondled the dagger as if it were a lover, and turned to face Sam with a bright smile.   
  
"You have met before?"  
  
And, as they had before, they met again.   
  
"Carter?" Jack asked, tenderly brushing a lock of hair away from her face, "Carter, are you okay? Carter?"  
  
She woke up, warily looking around her.   
  
"Carter, it's great to have you back," Jack smiled, "I was worried!"  
  
Sam narrowed her eyes at him, and backed off into her corner.   
  
"Carter, it's me!" Jack protested innocently, "Can't you see?"  
  
"I drank the Blood of Sokar," Sam smiled sadly, "As far as I'm concerned, you could be anything. You're certainly a figment of my imagination."  
  
"No, I'm not!" Jack said, "You were brought back here, dumped in the cell and left. You were unconscious for hours, but you just woke up a minute ago!"  
  
"Then where's Debbie?" She asked, searching the room with her eyes, but giving up when it made her head hurt.   
  
"Ba'al has her now," Jack said, "For crying out loud, Sam, it's me!"  
  
"No, it's not," Sam said, turning her face to the wall and savouring its coolness against her cheek.   
  
"Why would I lie to you? Sam, I was wrong. Everything I said was cruel, and I take back everything I did. It was a betrayal, and I hurt you. I never want to hurt you again, Sam."  
  
She looked over at him. Damn, he looked sincere. He sure as hell sounded it too. But something just wasn't adding up.   
  
"Even if I did believe you, which I don't, this could still be Ba'al talking. I can't trust either of you as far as I could throw you."  
  
"Sure," Jack said, "But would Ba'al do this?"  
  
He crouched beside her, took her head in his hands and kissed her. She moaned softly at the contact of his lips on hers, his hand sliding down her waist to rest at her hip. Reluctantly, after a few more seconds, they broke apart.  
  
"I…" Sam stammered.   
  
"Ssh," Jack smiled, drinking in the image of her before him. She was so beautiful, and he'd hurt her so badly. She hadn't deserved any of it.   
  
"When are we going to get out of here?" She asked, fighting back tears.   
  
"As soon as we get back to the gate," Jack said reassuringly, raising a hand to stroke her hair, "And when you tell me the iris code."  
  
Sam frowned, and sat upright against the wall.   
  
"What?" She asked, still stunned by their kiss.   
  
"The iris code," Jack smiled, "I can't remember it. I know it starts with a…"  
  
Sam backed away from him, eyes wide.   
  
"No. No way - this isn't you, Jack. Damn you, Ba'al! I know what you're doing!" She shouted.   
  
"Whoa, calm down!" Jack protested, pinning her arms back at her sides, "It's me, Sam, not Ba'al!"  
  
"Let go of me!" She yelled, "You're not Jack! I know you're not!"  
  
"Sam, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jack shouted, pinning her to the floor, "Will you just calm down?"  
  
"Get…off!" She shouted. She used her weight to throw herself to one side and knock him off of her, but had no idea how she was supposed to escape him. The four walls of their cell seemed to move in closer around her, leaving her nowhere to hide. She turned back around and saw him standing opposite her.   
  
"Have it your way, my love," he growled, and his eyes flashed. He advanced towards her, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a ribbon device.   
  
When the end finally came, it was blissfully quick, and she sank once more into the cover of darkness.   
  
Ba'al shouted angrily and slammed his fist into the wall, watching entranced as thin ribbons of blood flowed down his hand and pooled at his wrist. He looked again at the female on the floor, and smiled. She was strong. She would take longer to break, he knew it - but it would be even more enjoyable when she did.  
  
"Jaffa, return her to the cell. I will see them again tomorrow."   
  
He swept out of the room and left the jaffa to drag Sam back to the cell.   
  
"Sam!" Jack shouted, going over to her as the jaffa left the cell. Debbie sniffed, annoyed at the attention he was giving her. They were supposed to be arch enemies, after all.   
  
"Sam! Sam, wake up!" Jack said urgently, shaking her gently.   
  
"Wha-" Sam woke up and laid eyes on him again. She moaned softly and pulled away from him.   
  
"Carter, what did he do?" Jack asked.   
  
She eyed him suspiciously from the corner of the room, and picked at a cut on her knee.   
  
"Carter?" Jack persisted, moving closer to her.  
  
"Get away from me!" she protested, "You're not doing this again, Ba'al!"  
  
Jack stopped still in front of her.   
  
"Ba'al? You think I'm… Carter, this is me! Jack!"  
  
"You said that last time!" She said angrily, "And then you killed me!"  
  
Jack's shoulders sagged. He turned around to face Debbie, who shrugged.   
  
"This is what he can do with personal information," Jack ground out through his teeth.   
  
"If you ask me, she was well on that way before this mission," Debbie said dryly.   
  
"Since this is your first encounter with a system lord," Jack said, his patience rapidly disappearing, "I suggest you shut up and listen to me for a moment! Sure, you've had many hours of experience in the field, but you know very little about the Goa'uld! Next time you're in there, you do not tell him anything! Got it?"  
  
"Sure," Debbie commented, "But if he's so powerful, clever, whatever - why hasn't he taken you yet, hmm? Just me and her, but not you? What's he playing at?"  
  
Jack looked over at the figure huddled in the corner, and put his head in his hands.   
  
"He's playing a game - and he's changing the rules as he does it."  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author Notes: Many of you asked for a sequel, so here it is! Please send your feedback to jm-webmistressfsmail.net Sorry about the wait!! 


	3. Splitting the Circle

Title: Splitting the Circle  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback: jm-webmistressfsmail.net   
  
Spoilers: You need to have read 'Full Circle' and 'Circles of the Mind.'  
  
Summary: A rescue mission is started, but Jack is deteriorating fast, and Debbie bullies Sam into making an impossible choice.   
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season. MCKAY WARNING: Yep, he's nice in this one too, so if you don't like him, don't read this.   
  
Author Notes: Many thanks to NG, who's been great for a very long time, and FinallyAssimilated, who's also a great writer and deserves more credit! Now, on with the story…  
  
Archive: Gateworld, Fanfiction.net  
  
Splitting the Circle   
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
They were pretty sure that night had fallen. Debbie jerked a thumb over in Sam's direction.   
  
"Has she calmed down yet?" She asked.   
  
"You really have no idea, do you?" He replied.   
  
"Jack, for goodness' sake! How can you be Ba'al? You don't look anything like him!" Debbie protested, "It's all very well telling me that I have no idea, but how about filling me in? Hmm?"  
  
"He uses some methods of, well call it mind control." Jack began. Debbie snorted, and Jack shot her a glare.   
  
"The stuff he used on Sam is called the Blood of Sokar. It's a very powerful hallucinogen - it can make things seem real when they aren't."  
  
"Since when did you start calling her Sam again?" Debbie snapped.   
  
"For crying out loud, Debbie!" Jack shouted, "What are you more worried about? Seriously? Getting tortured and killed by Ba'al, or me calling my 2IC by her first name?"  
  
"She's not your 2IC any more," Debbie replied hotly, "I am."  
  
Sam was woken by the noise of their fight, and Jack decided to try and talk to her again.   
  
"I know it's hard to believe, and you know that I know it too, but this really is me, Sam."  
  
She looked at him. For the first time in years, he looked properly at her, too. Those once bright blue eyes were darker, filled with an agony he could identify with. Her whole body was tensed, preparing to spring away from him if the moment arose.   
  
"But that's what they always say, don't they Jack? In the hallucinations. It's what my father said to me, what Charlie said to you."  
  
"Charlie?" Debbie asked, "Who's Charlie?"  
  
Sam barked a short laugh.   
  
"You've been together for two years and you haven't told her yet? Jeez!"  
  
Jack shot Sam a pleading glance that she reluctantly understood, and remained quiet.   
  
"Who's Charlie?" Debbie repeated.   
  
The jaffa came again. Their footsteps pounding on the floor were like death bells for Sam, who turned into the wall again.   
  
"Our lord wishes to see you, O'Neill. It seems he is anxious to be re-acquainted with you."  
  
"Whoop-de-do!" Jack said, unenthusiastically, "Take me away, fellas!"  
  
"General, please…" McKay whined.   
  
"I've told you, Doctor McKay, there is not a team on this base that would risk…"  
  
At that moment, Colonel Makepeace entered Hammond's office, without knocking. Noticing what he had done, he stepped back outside and knocked on the door before coming in again.   
  
McKay watched this with raised eyebrows, and muttered,  
  
"What a jerk."  
  
"Colonel?" Hammond asked, ignoring McKay's swipe at Makepeace, "What can I help you with?"  
  
"General Hammond, sir, it's about the rescue mission," Makepeace said, still standing rigidly at attention.   
  
"What rescue mission?" Hammond asked, "I never authorised it!"  
  
"Well, sir, SG-3 are prepared to undertake it if you will give us permission."  
  
"Do you have some evidence to back up this strategy of yours?"  
  
"Yes, sir…I think…Edelson was having some trouble downloading the information…"  
  
Makepeace was interrupted by McKay, who smirked.   
  
"Dear me, cavemen and modern technology just don't mix, do they?" He sneered, "You're probably downloading it into the base mainframe as we speak, screwing up some computer system or another…"  
  
"Doctor McKay, that is enough!" Hammond warned. Makepeace glared at him.   
  
"Colonel, you show me the data that proves it's safe and you'll have a go."  
  
"Yes, sir!" Makepeace said, saluting Hammond and directing him to Edelson's office.   
  
McKay was humming a little tune, and tried to exit the office when he walked into Colonel Makepeace, who was surprisingly hard to distinguish from a wall.   
  
"You want to watch it, Sheila," he smirked, "Or you'll disappear up your own…"  
  
Makepeace grabbed McKay by the scruff of his shirt, and held him up a few inches in the air.   
  
"Now listen, Doctor," Makepeace snarled, "You just stick to your computers and notebooks, and my men will go save the real people, okay?"  
  
McKay squeaked.   
  
Makepeace lowered him back to the floor and left the room with a large smile on his face. He'd been wanting to do that for ages.   
  
"Colonel O'Neill. It is a pleasure to see you again."  
  
"Oh, it's always a pleasure to be tortured by you," Jack shot back.   
  
Ba'al smirked.   
  
"Yes. It is reassuring to see that your sharp tongue has not deserted you."  
  
"Likewise."  
  
"Tell me, Colonel, what happened to your relationship with Major Carter? I must say I was greatly disappointed when I heard that you were no longer a partnership."  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you." Jack snapped.   
  
"Yes, and what of this other woman? What is the attraction?" Ba'al turned around, his back to Jack. "I know which one I would chose, given the option."  
  
"Fortunately, you won't have one," Jack replied.   
  
"Maybe, maybe not," Ba'al smiled, turning back around to face Jack, a dagger in his hand.   
  
"You remember our communal friend?" Ba'al asked, twisting the dagger in his hands, "Your major Carter has already experienced its power. I must say I greatly enjoyed hearing her scream."  
  
"She wouldn't give you the pleasure," Jack snarled.   
  
"Ah," Ba'al smiled, "Just as I thought. You DO still have feelings for her."  
  
"No," Jack said, "But she's smart enough not to let you get one over on her, you snake-headed…"  
  
"What a pity it had to end like this," Ba'al commented thoughtfully, letting go of the dagger.   
  
"So, who's Charlie?" Debbie asked.   
  
Sam had to control her shock at realising that Debbie was addressing the question to her.   
  
"Charlie? He's uh.."  
  
"Jack seemed very pained when you mentioned his name. He must be important to him."  
  
"Charlie was a dog," Sam said, trying to sound serious, "A Burmese Mountain Dog. Jack loved him, but he died in a tragic accident…"  
  
"Don't fuck around with me!" Debbie spat, "I know when someone's lying and that was the biggest one I've heard in a while!"  
  
"Sorry, you're right," Sam admitted. "He was a German Shepherd."  
  
"Damn you, Carter!" Debbie shouted, "I'm asking you a serious question, and you think this is FUNNY?"  
  
Sam smirked, and looked over at Debbie.   
  
"I'm going to die. We're all going to be tortured to death…or worse, by the most brutal system lord who has ever roamed the planet, and you know what really pisses me off?"  
  
Debbie looked angry.   
  
"I've got to die, with only YOU for company!"  
  
Debbie snarled and moved across the room to Sam, who didn't appear in the least bit intimidated.   
  
"What are you gonna do?" She laughed, "Hit me? Go ahead."  
  
Debbie bit her lip and sat back down again, as far away from Sam as she could possibly manage.   
  
"You're not worth the effort," she snapped.   
  
"No, and if Jack hasn't told you about Charlie yet, he clearly thinks the same about you!"  
  
That shot went home. Debbie turned away, and for a moment Sam felt a stirring of guilt.   
  
What have you got to feel guilty about? She asked herself, for goodness' sake, Sam! Don't let her turn this around on you, not again!  
  
Their silence was interrupted by the jaffa returning Jack to the cell, dumping him on the floor next to Debbie.  
  
"You!" the jaffa said, pointing at Sam, "Our lord wishes to see you."  
  
So, once again, Debbie was left alone in the cell with Jack.   
  
"Well, Colonel Makepeace, if you're sure this will work…"  
  
"100 percent, sir," Makepeace replied.   
  
"Very well - you have a go. 0900 Hours tomorrow morning." Hammond agreed.   
  
"Uh…General, don't you think it would be a good idea for me to go too? I mean, these marines are hardly capable of dealing with a standard operating system, let alone a complex series of numbers and doors, so should I…"  
  
"Not in a million years!" Makepeace retorted.   
  
"Ah - Colonel," Hammond said, "As much as I hate to say this, Dr McKay does have a point."  
  
"Please God, General…" Makepeace begged.   
  
"I'm sorry. He's going with you - but as a computer and technical advisor only. If he steps out of line at any moment…"  
  
"Don't worry, I will!" Makepeace snarled, retreating from the room before he could get caught up in a conversation with McKay.   
  
"I will give you this advice now," Hammond said quietly, "Do not antagonise Colonel Makepeace, doctor, because you will be the one who ends up worse off. Are we clear?"  
  
"Crystal," McKay replied, and went off to bask in the victory of his first off world assignment.   
  
"My love, it is such a pleasure to see you again," Ba'al smiled. He was stretched languidly on a chair as Sam was marched in, and left on the floor. She decided the best policy was to say nothing.   
  
"Now you have gone silent on me once again," he commented, taking a drink from a glass of what Sam assumed to be wine. "Such a pity - you do have a beautiful voice, Major Carter."  
  
Again, Sam said nothing. She knew not to be deceived by his apparent laziness, the way he was sprawled on the chair. He could be on her in seconds, and she knew from experience that he was at least ten times stronger than she was.   
  
"I am willing to make you a deal, my love. The conditions are very simple. I will allow Colonel O'Neill to go free, but you must stay here. I am in desperate need of a new Lo'tar, and I believe you would fill the position quite…satisfactorily."   
  
"Go to hell," She said, forcing herself to meet his eyes. She expected him to jump up, to hurl another dagger at her, do anything…but he stayed perfectly still.   
  
"I beg you to think about this for a moment, my love," he said softly, "What have you got to lose? Your Colonel has eyes only for this other woman, and there is no one that loves you among the Tau'ri. You are completely alone."  
  
"What about the other woman?" Sam asked, careful not to give Debbie's name.   
  
"What about her?" Ba'al asked, sitting up a little more in his chair.   
  
"What'll happen to her?" Sam persisted.   
  
"She will remain here, with us," Ba'al smiled, "You can do to her whatever you wish. As my Lo'tar, I will give you the full authority to do to her as I do to you. I am sure you would enjoy it."  
  
"I am not like you," Sam replied sharply.   
  
"I think you are, my love. Are you seriously telling me that you have no grudge against her? That you have no wish to harm her as she has harmed you? This, I know, cannot be true."  
  
"Let her go," Sam said.   
  
Ba'al rose from his chair.   
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Let Colonel O'Neill and the woman go," Sam said steadily, "And then I'll think about your offer."  
  
Ba'al laughed, and walked towards her.   
  
"So smart. No, the deal works like this, my love. You agree to be my Lo'tar, and I let the two of them go. In that order. Otherwise…how do I know if you intend to deceive me?"  
  
How will you ever know? Sam thought, but kept quiet. Was she doing the right thing? Hell, no! Of course she wasn't! She should have been keeping her own butt safe and not worrying about anyone else - especially Jack and Debbie! But no, her 'helping others' gene had gotten in the way again, and now what a mess she had gotten herself into.   
  
"I am still waiting for your answer, my love." Ba'al persisted, running a hand through her hair.   
  
A lifetime serving Ba'al? Had she completely lost her mind?   
  
"No," she said.   
  
His affection quickly turned to anger. He slammed her back into the wall, smiling as she grimaced in pain.   
  
"First you say yes, then you say no! I do not appreciate being toyed with, my love!"   
  
"Go to hell!" She replied.   
  
She felt his hand contact her face in a sharp slap, and fell to the floor again. She struggled to stand up, and he grabbed her arm, pulling it behind her back and pinning her against him. It was then that she felt the cool blade of the knife kiss the skin of her throat.   
  
"I would much rather send you there myself," he smiled, pushing the knife in just a little harder, watching as little beads of blood ran down her neck and disappeared into her shirt. "You will have time to regret your decision, my love, let me promise you now."  
  
He pushed her away from him again, and ordered the jaffa to take her away.   
  
When Sam got back to the cell, she found Debbie cradling Jack in her arms.   
  
"How is he?" Sam asked, still shaken, sitting down on the floor.   
  
"How do you think?" Debbie snapped, "I…I think he's been stabbed."  
  
Sam went over to the pair of them, and gasped. It seemed that Ba'al was tired of using the sarcophagus. The blood still oozed from his wounds, and he was having trouble staying alert.   
  
"Colonel?" Sam asked, then again slightly louder, "Colonel, you've got to stay awake."  
  
The jaffa came for Debbie a few moments later.   
  
"McKay, so help me if you don't shut up…" Makepeace threatened.  
  
"I was just trying to tell you how you could get your laptop to work, seeing as you obviously have no idea!"  
  
"Well you obviously have no idea that Goa'uld ships have a frequency that does jam up our laptops quite frequently!" Edelson replied, "And if you don't belt up, it'll stop working for a different reason!"  
  
"I beg to differ, Edelson my caveman friend, but that is anatomically impossible!"  
  
"Well, Major Carter seemed to be able to do things that were scientifically impossible, didn't she? I think we could give it a try." Makepeace smiled.   
  
McKay flinched a little at the mention of her name.   
  
"Aww…has the Doctor got a crush?" Edelson laughed.   
  
"Trust me, baldy, it's called concern. You might want to try it some time!"  
  
"Hey," Makepeace interrupted, "My team are just as concerned for her as you are. I've known Major Carter for a hell of a lot longer than you, and I consider her to be a friend. We'll get her back because it's our job. Now, are you gonna shut up, or are we gonna make you?"  
  
"Shutting up," McKay obliged.   
  
"Colonel?" Sam asked, gently running a hand through his hair, "Colonel, please wake up."  
  
"Carter?" He asked groggily.   
  
"Yeah, sir, listen to me - please try and stay awake. Don't go to sleep."  
  
"Tired," he mumbled.   
  
"I know," Sam said, biting back tears of her own, "But do this for m…do this for Debbie."  
  
"You're…bleeding," he said quietly, pointing at her neck.   
  
She put a hand to her neck and it came away sticky. She hurriedly wiped it on her jacket.   
  
"I'm fine," she said, "let's concentrate on you."  
  
"Knives," he murmured, "He used them again."  
  
"I know," Sam said, trying to get a better look at his injuries.   
  
"Carter - I'm sorry," Jack said.   
  
"It's okay," Sam replied, still fussing with his shirt, "We'll get out of here, and…"  
  
He reached up a hand to touch her cheek.   
  
"No, I mean it. I'm sorry - about Debbie, about work - hell, the whole of the past two years!"  
  
She turned away from him. He sure picked his moments!  
  
"Sam?"  
  
"I know," she smiled, taking his hand in hers, "I know you do."  
  
"Do you forgive me?" He asked, brokenly.   
  
"I…" Sam stammered, but Jack started to fall asleep again.   
  
"No! Colonel, please…stay awake. Listen to me! I might be able to cut a deal…to get you out of here."  
  
"Don't."  
  
"I'll do it, I will!" Sam said, "But you'll be safe. Debbie can go with you, you can get back to the SGC and…"  
  
"I'm not leaving you behind, Carter," he croaked, "Not an option. Never will be."  
  
"Well, your staying here isn't an option either," Sam replied.  
  
"Don't…do it," he warned her.   
  
"But sir…"  
  
"Dammit, Carter, I gave you an order!" He snapped, wincing as the pain got worse again.   
  
"Your name, my dear, still eludes me," Ba'al commented.   
  
"Why do you want to know my name?" Debbie asked bitterly, "You're only going to torture me again."  
  
Ba'al laughed, twirling his fingers around a glass but stopping just before it reached his lips.   
  
"You have been perfectly willing to share information about Major Carter," he said, very amused. "Your treachery does entertain me so."  
  
"Let the colonel go," Debbie said, determinedly.   
  
Ba'al laughed again.   
  
"You are not the first to have asked for his release, my love - but unfortunately someone has made me a better offer for your beloved one."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Debbie snapped.   
  
"Unlike you, my dear, my tongue is not so loose," Ba'al replied, "But you have been most useful. I have enjoyed my time with you."  
  
He slipped the ribbon device onto his hand and looked at it, as he would look at a lover.   
  
"Don't kill me," Debbie said, "I'll - I'll do anything!"  
  
"Would you sacrifice the life of your lover?" He questioned, still raising the ribbon device threateningly. He smirked as she paused.   
  
"The other one would. Maybe your attraction does not go so deep?"  
  
"Go to hell," Debbie spat.   
  
"Perhaps you should remember who you are talking to," Ba'al threatened, drawing closer to her, "I hold your three lives in the palm of my hand. I have the ability to crush them in a mere second."  
  
"Let…him…go," Debbie tried once more.   
  
Ba'al shook his head.   
  
"Your proposition is of no interest to me, my love," he said, and activated the ribbon device.   
  
Debbie closed her eyes as the pain set in, her last thoughts of Jack as she prepared to die.  
  
"Are we nearly there yet?" McKay whined.   
  
Makepeace cast an astonished look back at the doctor.   
  
"YOU were the one who kissed Hammond's ass to get here!" He snapped, "Do you want to rescue your girlfriend or not?"  
  
"She's not my girlfriend," McKay replied.   
  
"No - she's got more brains than to go out with you!"  
  
"Oh, really? Well, she hasn't asked you out yet, has she?" He replied, annoyed.   
  
"I hate to break up this argument, really - but we have a more important issue here," Edelson reminded them.   
  
"We set up camp another 3 clicks North," Makepeace grunted, ignoring the hand movements that McKay was making behind his back.  
  
"Debbie?" Sam asked, crouching beside the woman as she stirred.   
  
Debbie groaned and put a hand to her head.   
  
"What the hell do you want?" Debbie snapped.   
  
"Well, that's gratitude," Sam sniffed, edging away from her again.   
  
"Jack?" Debbie asked, crawling to his side.   
  
"He's getting worse," Sam said quietly.   
  
"Well, that's obvious," She snapped again. "Ba'al mentioned something about a better offer for Jack's freedom."  
  
Sam paled, but Debbie didn't notice.   
  
"Really?" She choked.   
  
"Hm. Well, whoever the hell it is, I wish they would just get on with it! He clearly doesn't have that much time left!"  
  
"Maybe it's not that simple," Sam stammered.   
  
"WHAT?" Debbie exploded, "How much more simple can it get, Major? If he doesn't get out of here, he…will…DIE! Christ, you're so stupid!"  
  
The thought stung. Debbie was right, wasn't she? If she didn't make the deal with Ba'al, Jack would die. It would all be her fault. Sam ran a hand over her face and back through her hair, barely acknowledging the torrent of abuse that poured from Debbie's mouth.   
  
"…Damn scientists loose track of the real world… too bothered with your little computers…"  
  
Jack. Her CO. They'd been great friends for so many years. They had parted on very bad terms - their two year separation hadn't made the situation any better.   
  
"…Trailing around after him…jumping him that time in the locker room! You're no better than a damned bitch in heat!"  
  
She'd been an embarrassment to him. The realisation struck her like a lightening bolt. Her feelings were completely one-sided. He found her annoying, boring…  
  
"…He's lying here dying now, and you're saying it's not simple? This is all your fault!"  
  
Her fault. It was all her fault. If she hadn't yelled at him that day, she would never have resigned from SG-1. They wouldn't have split up, she never would have been recruited into this mission. It wouldn't have gone ahead, and Jack…  
  
She cast a look down at him on the floor and blinked back tears. Of grief, and anger. Anger at herself, for not preventing this. Damn Debbie. Damn her to hell for being right all the time!  
  
"Are you even listening to me?" Debbie yelled. "This - is - your - fault!"   
  
"What do you want me to do about it?" Sam replied coolly.  
  
The slap connected with her cheek before Sam even knew what was happening.   
  
"You're the one with all the brains, missus! You figure it out! Christ, when we get back to the SGC I've got grounds for a Court Martial…" Debbie shouted.   
  
"If. IF we get back to the SGC," Sam reminded her, dodging another slap.   
  
"Yeah, which ultimately is all…"  
  
"MY FAULT!" Sam yelled back. "I KNOW! You already told me a thousand times!"  
  
"Well then why don't you get off your lazy backside and do something about it?" Debbie roared.   
  
The heavy footfalls of the Jaffa split up their argument, and Sam felt the hand of dread close in on her. It was time she made her choice - her life, or his?  
  
"My love, I do hope you have reconsidered our arrangement," Ba'al smiled, gently hooking his fingers under her chin and turning her face to his.  
  
"You let the Colonel and the other woman go…" Sam said steadily, "And I stay."  
  
Ba'al's face broke into a twisted smile.   
  
"Excellent," was all he said.   
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author Note: AAGH! Sorry to leave it there. Please send feedback to jm-webmistressfsmail.net Who fancies another chapter?? 


	4. Empty Circles

Title: Empty Circles   
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback:   
  
Spoilers: Emancipation, Abyss  
  
You need to have read 'Full Circle', 'Circles of the Mind' and 'Splitting the Circle.'  
  
Summary: Jack and Debbie are home and safe, but Sam is suffering for the sacrifice she made to save them.   
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season. MCKAY WARNING: He really is nice in this one - so once again, if you hate him, don't read it.   
  
Author Notes: Yep, Colonel Makepeace shouldn't be in this story…but I kind of forgot the events of 'Shades of Grey'. Oops.   
  
WARNING: Contains mild scenes of torture. I've not been too graphic, but I'll warn you anyway. Also contains McKay.   
  
Archive: Gateworld,   
  
Empty Circles   
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
"Take them to the gate," Ba'al commanded, "Ensure that they make it through - I do not wish to see them again."  
  
The jaffa left, leaving Sam alone with Ba'al.   
  
"I knew you would come to your senses," he smiled, grabbing hold of her wrist and twisting it painfully, pulling her towards him. "Now, to begin your duties as Lo'tar you must first be…properly attired."  
  
His eyes looked down her body, and he smirked at the military uniform, before easing his gaze back up in a long caress.   
  
Sam felt herself shudder, and bit her lip against the pain in her wrist. He still showed no signs of letting go.   
  
As if reading her thoughts, he relinquished his hold of her wrist, enjoying the hiss of pain she failed to conceal from him.   
  
"You will find clothing in the next room. I expect you back here very shortly. Please do not disobey my first order. I believe you would come to…regret it."  
  
Sam gritted her teeth, visions of the blue creation she'd had to wear for the Shava'dai flashing through her head. Still - this whole situation had been her fault, hadn't it? She was paying the price for her mistake, and she deserved everything she got.   
  
Makepeace and his team trudged along, unaware that Jack and Debbie were being escorted back through the gate just a few miles away from them. McKay was dangerously close to being throttled by the other members of SG-3, but continued on, unaware of Edelson grinding his teeth.   
  
He was doing this purely to get her back -his research couldn't continue without a lab partner. There was nothing more to it than that.   
  
Liar, he told himself. You're scared for her, and you know it.   
  
But did his feelings end there? He wasn't certain. They had both admitted their initial attraction to one another, and he'd always been one for flirting, but in the years that he'd come to know her he had found the time to respect her. She'd worked so hard for everything she had, and there were still people in the SGC who worked against her.   
  
Dammit, he was thinking too much again.   
  
The only reason he was doing this was to get her back - back in their lab, so he could carry on working. Work was simple to him. Facts and figures were so much easier to deal with than people - and his own feelings. Being shut up in a science lab kept him from making emotional attachments, stopped him from becoming like the guys he'd gone to college with - but above all else, it made him lonely.   
  
Never bothered you before, McKay, he snapped, why start now?  
  
But now was different. Makepeace's words from earlier had stung him.   
  
"She's got more brains than to go out with you!"  
  
Stupid dumb-ass marine. Like he could find his own butt in the dark with a torch and a map. He didn't know what he was talking about. But part of McKay knew he was right - what chance did a guy like him have with a woman like her? Even now that O'Neill was out of the picture, his chances weren't looking good.   
  
Not that he felt that way for her, anyway. Of course not.   
  
He was only going to get her back home, to carry on his work.  
  
Liar.  
  
To begin with, her work as a Lo'tar was nothing more than that of a chambermaid. In the few hours that she had been working for him - and that was a scary thought, her working for him - she hadn't encountered anything particularly dangerous or foreboding.   
  
This worried her. What was he planning to do with her? Was he building himself up for something terrible, or would he spring it on her when she was least expecting it? Another shudder ran through her as she heard his footsteps behind her.   
  
"I do hope that this task is not boring you, my love," he said smoothly, stroking a finger down her cheek.   
  
She glared at him, hating it when he touched her, when he called her his love. Damned Goa'uld arrogance - she was no more his than she was anybody else's.   
  
"As my Lo'tar, you are required to carry out these duties with good grace," he continued.   
  
"You never mentioned that before," Sam retorted, without thinking.   
  
The back of his hand caught her face again and sent her sprawling to the floor. He stood above her, a smirk on his lips.   
  
"I do not appreciate the sharpness of your tongue," he said, "I am your lord, your master! If you persist in talking to me in this way I will have no choice but to remove it!"  
  
Sam swallowed, and fought the urge to put a hand to her mouth.   
  
"Get up," he spat, "And follow me."  
  
Sam decided that it might be better for her to keep quiet, so she obediently followed him, a feeling of dread growing inside of her.   
  
"Unscheduled off world activation!"  
  
General Hammond rushed to the gate room, standing beside Sergeant Davis.   
  
"I'm receiving SG-1's iris code."  
  
"Open it!" Hammond ordered, before joining Dr Fraiser, Teal'c and Daniel at the base of the gate.   
  
As the iris opened, they all held their breath. Two figures emerged from the gate - but there was no sign of a third.   
  
"Help!" Debbie shouted, "He needs medical attention, he's seriously hurt!"  
  
Janet rushed forwards with a gurney, and Jack was taken away. Daniel's face paled as the gate shut down.   
  
"Where's Sam?" He asked Debbie, who was looking at him like something she'd scraped off the bottom of her shoe.   
  
Debbie looked behind her at the gate, and had the nerve to shrug. Teal'c glared at her, and clenched his fists at his sides.   
  
"YOU LEFT HER BEHIND?" Daniel yelled in disbelief.   
  
"The guards took us and dumped us at the gate," Debbie retorted, taking a step forwards in an attempt to intimidate him, "I don't know where she was!"  
  
"And you made no attempt to make further enquiries?" Teal'c questioned.   
  
"No, I made no attempt to make further enquiries," Debbie sneered, mocking him, "She wasn't with us when we came through the gate. This is all her fault anyway…"  
  
General Hammond's eyes widened at this, and Teal'c's hands clenched a little more. Daniel, however, was not quite so controlled.   
  
"HOW DARE YOU?" He shouted, placing his hands on her shoulders and shoving roughly, "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?"  
  
"Easy, doctor Jackson!" she smirked, poking him in the chest with her finger.  
  
"You…" he snarled, about to lash out again when Teal'c grabbed hold of him.   
  
"Get the hell off of me!" he protested, but Teal'c held him fast.   
  
"She is not worth the expenditure of your energy, Daniel Jackson," he replied quietly.   
  
General Hammond observed everything, turning away as Debbie walked down the ramp and towards the infirmary.   
  
"I'll be happy to give the de-brief, general," she said, casting a smirk back at Daniel and Teal'c.   
  
"Thank you, Colonel, but I think I've heard enough from you for one day," Hammond replied, his arms folded and his mouth set in a grim line.   
  
The door slid shut behind her and Daniel finally relaxed, allowing Teal'c to release him. He felt himself trembling, but not of fear - of anger.   
  
"They left her behind," he said quietly, "She's on her own…with Ba'al."  
  
"Major Carter is strong," Teal'c said, trying to console Daniel, "She will not give up easily."  
  
"SG-3 and Doctor McKay are on a rescue mission," Hammond added, "They should be there before long. I'm sorry, son, I can't offer you any more than that."  
  
"What does confuse me," Teal'c said, "Is why Ba'al would let Colonel O'Neill and Colonel Welling go. He does not strike me as a charitable man."  
  
Daniel closed his eyes, and tried to get his shaking under control.   
  
"Maybe we'll learn more when Colonel O'Neill regains consciousness," Hammond said, also looking at the gate, "But I'm afraid that all we can do until then is wait."  
  
The pain shot through her like a stream of fire. Once again she found herself in the torture chamber, feeling her life and her fight spilling out of her with every blade, with every strike.   
  
She consoled herself with the thought that Jack and Debbie would be home by now. At least some good had come from this - and she was just repaying her debt. If it hadn't been for her, they would never have been captured in the first place. She should have been the last one left - this was her place. Debbie's was with Jack.   
  
She knew that now. Even though it still left a dull ache, she had finally grasped the fact that he had moved on. Lying to herself about her own beliefs was no longer helping - She had gotten herself into this mess, and for once, Jack was not going to be the one to get her out.   
  
He was impressed by her strength. He'd been using the sarcophagus sparingly this time, seeing how far he could push her towards death before he rescued her from the brink of it and restored her to health. He was impressed with her decision to give her life for O'Neill's. Surely with another woman on the scene, she would have given up? But no.   
  
He knew. He had felt it from the first time he had laid eyes on her. Her feelings ran deep, deeper than his, and without knowing it she had provided him with the perfect weapon. A great advantage over her. The ability to use her love for him against her. She was turning out to be intensely enjoyable. He fed off of her pain, her suffering. Every cry made him stronger.   
  
He dropped the knife that he was holding and went over to her. A smile appeared and quickly broadened on his face.   
  
After everything she had been through, she was still fighting. He touched his fingers to her throat and felt her pulse racing just beneath her skin. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but he knew that this would not free her from the onslaught of pain.   
  
"You fascinate me, my love," he said quietly, his fingers sliding down her body until he reached a wound in her chest. He pulled his hand away and studied the blood on his fingers, looking back up at her. He was pleased to see that her eyes were once again open and she was glaring at him.   
  
Slowly, deliberately, he licked her blood off of his fingers.   
  
"You asked for this," he smiled. "You knew exactly what you were letting yourself in for. You did it to save your precious Colonel - and look what he's done! He's run off with the other woman and left you on your own."  
  
"Go to hell," she repeated.   
  
He backed away from her.   
  
"I am tired of this," he said, "You shall return to your quarters and wait for my further instruction. Is that understood?"  
  
Sam nodded.   
  
He snarled, dissatisfied, and grabbed hold of her wrist, twisting it.   
  
"Is that understood?"  
  
"Yes…my lord," she ground out from between her teeth.   
  
"How much further is it?" McKay asked in disbelief, "We've been walking for miles!"  
  
"I do hate to agree with the snivelling little wretch," Edelson added, "But he has a point."  
  
"According to the info we gathered, it should only be a little further," Makepeace said, "But I can't see any sign of a Goa'uld ship."  
  
"And it's kind of hard to misplace one," McKay said.   
  
"Yes," Makepeace agreed, somewhat testily, "So the ship must have moved."  
  
"Or you got the wrong information," McKay sneered.   
  
"You said it yourself, Doctor, it's hard to lose a Goa'uld mother ship. We're gonna keep looking until we find it, is that understood?"  
  
"Crystal clear, my friendly Colonel," McKay shot back.   
  
"Let's just get something crystal clear, shall we?" Makepeace said quietly, "I am not your friend."  
  
"Good - that makes two of us!"  
  
Jack groaned and put a hand to his head. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was sitting in that damned Goa'uld cell after being tortured by Ba'al. He didn't think he was there any more. Gingerly, he opened his eyes and saw Dr Fraiser looking down at him.   
  
"Colonel? You're back at the SGC. Nice to see you're back with us."  
  
He grunted in reply and tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest stopped him.   
  
"I'm going to advise you to stay where you are," Janet said, a small smile on her lips, "Not that it'll make much difference, I don't suppose."  
  
"Jack?"  
  
He turned his head to the side and smiled as Debbie approached him.   
  
"Oh my - thank god you're okay!" she gasped dramatically, throwing her arms around him.   
  
Janet frowned, having been told about the gate room incident by Danny and Teal'c earlier. Debbie had never been a friend of hers, but she'd just gone even lower in Janet's ranking. She wondered how long it would be before Jack remembered what had gone on and started to ask questions. She didn't have to wonder for long.   
  
"You got out?" Jack asked Debbie, holding her hand tightly in his.  
  
"We both got out," she smiled, squeezing his hand, "Everything will be okay."  
  
Janet bit her lip to stop herself from snapping at her. Jack would have to remember in his own time, not after some outburst from her. Quietly, she left the two of them alone together and went to find Daniel.   
  
It didn't take her long. He was sitting in his lab, a cup of coffee untouched at his side.   
  
"Hey," she said quietly.   
  
"Hey," he replied, offering her a chair beside him and continuing to stare at the wall in front of him.   
  
"Jack's woken up," Janet smiled weakly.   
  
"And I suppose Debbie is all over him?" Daniel asked.   
  
Janet was shocked at the venom in Daniel's voice, and laid a hand on his arm.   
  
"Daniel, we don't know enough about the situation yet…you shouldn't blame him."  
  
"Why not?" He asked, "What has Sam done in all of this to be blamed? She got hurt by Jack, bullied by the pair of them, then she managed to move on only to have to go through it all again - and be captured by Ba'al!"  
  
"She's strong," Janet offered, "She'll be okay."  
  
"Everyone keeps saying that," Daniel replied bitterly, "She's strong. She'll be okay. Maybe she isn't, Jan. Maybe she shouldn't have to be! We always assume that she'll go back to normal, she can deal with whatever life throws at her. Maybe she deserves the chance to be weaker for a change, to have people look after her. She's only human, like the rest of us."  
  
Janet didn't reply, but pulled Daniel into her arms. His despair finally got the better of him, and he relaxed in her arms, fighting back the urge to cry.   
  
"How could they leave her behind?" He asked brokenly. "How?"  
  
"I'm sorry to have to do this son," General Hammond said, "But we need to try and find out what happened."  
  
"You mean…Carter didn't come back with us?" Jack asked, rubbing a hand over his face.   
  
"No," General Hammond replied. "We've had no word from her since you left for the start of the mission."  
  
Jack was silent, staring down at the bed sheet as if it contained the answer to his problems. Hammond felt a brief twinge of guilt, but brushed it aside, remembering the way he had treated Major Carter a couple of years back.   
  
Debbie was seated beside Jack on the bed, still holding his hand. Daniel was standing against the wall, arms folded and a bleak expression on his face. Janet and Teal'c stood either side of him.   
  
"We were in the cell," Debbie began, "You were bleeding, badly, you were in a really bad way. She was with Ba'al."  
  
"She?" Daniel enquired, "You mean Sam?"  
  
"Yes, I mean Sam!" Debbie snapped, "Who else did you think I was talking about?"  
  
"She has a name," Daniel ground out through his teeth.   
  
"Whatever. Anyway, we were in the cell, and then these jaffa came in and said we were to be escorted to the gate. They took us there and just sort of…left."  
  
"There was no mention of Major Carter or what happened to her?" Hammond probed.   
  
"No," Debbie replied. "The last time I saw her was when Jack was…"  
  
"With Ba'al," he finished.   
  
"I don't understand," Hammond said, "Why would Ba'al let the two of you go, but not Major Carter?"  
  
Jack groaned and put his head in his hands, realisation and a memory hitting him with the force of a heavy truck. Her voice rang in his memory, and he was filled with dread.   
  
"I might be able to cut a deal…to get you out of here."  
  
"I'll do it, I will. But you'll be safe. Debbie can go with you, you can get back to the SGC."  
  
"Colonel?" Hammond asked, "Colonel, what is it?"  
  
Jack pulled his hands away from his face, but couldn't bring himself to look Hammond in the eye.  
  
"I…remember something. D…Colonel Welling was with Ba'al, I was in the cell with Sam. She mentioned something… about a deal."  
  
"What kind of deal, son?" Hammond questioned.   
  
"She said that she could get me and Debbie out of there, back here and safe."  
  
"By doing what?"  
  
"Ba'al mentioned something about a better offer from someone, for our freedom," Debbie said.   
  
"Our freedom?" Janet asked.   
  
"Mine and Jack's," Debbie replied.   
  
Daniel gritted his teeth.   
  
"Dammit," Jack croaked, "I told her not to. I made it an order!"  
  
"Then it is most likely that Major Carter offered her life to Ba'al in exchange for your freedom," Teal'c said, sombrely.   
  
The colour drained from Daniel's face, and he left the room quickly. Janet cast an agonised glance after him, but didn't follow.   
  
"Nobody made her!" Debbie retorted, annoyed at the reactions of the people around her.   
  
Jack wrenched his hand from hers and turned away, trying to bury his head in the pillow.   
  
Teal'c bowed his head sadly, and left the room to find Daniel. Janet retired to her office, leaving Jack, Debbie and Hammond alone.   
  
"I don't hold either of you to blame for this," Hammond said, "But Jack, when you're feeling up to it I will need a formal debrief from you."  
  
"Yes, sir," Jack replied.  
  
"Why do you need a statement?" Debbie asked, "We already told you what we know!"  
  
"It's just procedure, Colonel," Hammond replied coolly.  
  
"It wasn't his fault," she snapped, "Or mine!"  
  
"Colonel, I hope you're not implying that the blame lies with Major Carter!"  
  
"She blew our cover!" Debbie snapped, "She should have sensed the presence of a Goa'uld, she could have helped us to escape. But no - she just sat there."  
  
Hammond turned around and left the room before he did something he would come to regret.  
  
She woke up in the small cell where the three of them had been kept. So much for being a Lo'tar, she thought. It was no different to being a prisoner, you just had to dress up for it.   
  
She wore a tight-fitting black gown that was not unlike his, with a skirt that flared out at the bottom. She supposed it was marginally better than the blue monstrosity the Shava'dai had provided her with - even if the company wasn't.   
  
Her cheek stung from the many blows he had dealt her, and she picked absently at a spot of dried blood on the front of her gown. The sarcophagus had done the trick with her wounds - though she had wondered if she would ever get in it. Ba'al had seemed to realise that keeping her out of it prolonged the agony, and so he enjoyed it more.  
  
She looked at the four walls surrounding her, that seemed to close in on her, and sighed. She clenched her hands into fists and, for the first time since she had made the deal with Ba'al, she allowed herself to cry.   
  
"Hold on," Makepeace said, stopping suddenly, ignoring Edelson as he crashed into the back of him.   
  
"According to this, the ship is just over the crest of that hill."  
  
"Proceed with caution," Makepeace said, in a harsh whisper, "We don't know how many jaffa he has stationed outside, let alone inside."  
  
McKay ran a hand over the sidearm he carried, nervously. Had this been such a good idea after all? When facing a jaffa would he be able to defend himself, or would he just squeal and run behind one of the marines? Shit, he wasn't really cut out for this part of the job.   
  
They walked as far as they could go before dropping down on their hands and knees, crawling to the top of the hill and looking over.   
  
When Makepeace saw what was there, you could have heard his string of expletives on Tollana.   
  
After hours of persuasion, Debbie had finally left him alone. His emotions were so mixed, he didn't know which one to try and confront first.   
  
Anger. Fear. Hatred. Guilt.   
  
Anger. Anger at himself, at Debbie, and Carter. Dammit, he'd told her not to do it - he could still remember her pale face in the darkness, telling him she could make the deal. He'd ordered her not to - but she'd done it anyway. He was angry at Debbie for laying the blame completely on Sam. How could it have all been her fault? He was angry at Debbie for her insensitivity - he couldn't hold a candle to her! Most of all, he was angry at himself. He had been the CO in charge, he should have stopped them being captured and he should never, ever have allowed Sam to be left behind.   
  
Fear. He was scared for Sam. He had first hand experience of what Ba'al was capable of, and it wasn't good. Hell, he'd got so desperate that he wanted Daniel to help him ascend - and she didn't even have Daniel there. He was afraid of the man he had become - allowing himself and Debbie to treat her so badly, without a hint of remorse for her suffering.   
  
Hatred. He hated himself. He hated Ba'al for being the sick, twisted snake head that he was, but he hated himself. He never left a member of his team behind, never. It was never an option for him, and it never would be. Yet, here he was, sitting pretty in the infirmary whilst his once best friend was probably dying. Great job, Colonel, he thought bitterly.  
  
Guilt. It wasn't Sam's fault, it was his and Debbie's. Poor Sam shouldn't even have been on the mission with them - he sure knew that she didn't want to be there! What he couldn't understand, above all else, was why she had done it. It was no secret that the bridges between them had been well and truly burned, and after everything he'd put her through he deserved the worst she could give him. She'd given her life for his - knowing full well that the gesture probably wouldn't have been returned. That made him so very sad. He closed his eyes to try and shut out the pain, but she was there in his minds' eye, huddled against the corner of the room. She was there, trying to ease his pain and getting shouted at by Debbie for her efforts.   
  
"Yeah, sir, listen to me - please try and stay awake. Don't go to sleep."  
  
"Tired," he mumbled.   
  
"I know," Sam said, biting back tears of her own, "But do this for m…do this for Debbie."   
  
He'd had no right to ask her to forgive him. How could he have expected her to do that? He thought of the years he'd spent trying to convince himself that he could live without her - was he just stringing himself along? What he was feeling now certainly seemed to suggest it.   
  
"Jacob? We thought you were Ba'al!" Makepeace snapped, lowering his weapon.   
  
"Sorry to disappoint you," Jacob replied dryly, "But did you really think he was going to wait here for you to kick him in the ass?"  
  
"You mean he's gone?" Edelson asked, "We spent the best part of two days walking out here for nothing?"  
  
"We've been tracking the movements of his ship," Jacob explained, "We know how many jaffa are on board, and we know how many men we're going to need to rescue Sam."  
  
"How many?" Makepeace asked.   
  
"More than we have here," Jacob said. "Come on - we have Tok'ra backup on board, and we need to move quickly. When Ba'al realises we're onto him, we're…"  
  
"Screwed." McKay finished.   
  
Still, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he wouldn't have to use the weapon. He would just have to endure the equivalent of a long-haul aeroplane flight with SG-3.   
  
"Who's the short one?" Jacob asked Makepeace as they boarded the ship.   
  
"Doctor Rodney McKay," Makepeace smirked, "Thinks he's smarter than Sam. Also fancies the ass off of her."  
  
With that, he walked ahead, a shit-eating grin spreading over his face. Let McKay handle that one, he thought.   
  
"Your lord requests your presence," the jaffa announced, standing at the door to her cell.   
  
"Oh, great!" Sam said quietly, but this did not go unnoticed by the jaffa, who pushed her in the ribs with his staff weapon, laughing as the force knocked her over.   
  
"Come now, Tau'ri, you mustn't delay him!"   
  
Reluctantly, Sam got up and followed him, a hand pressed to her chest to try and dull the pain there.   
  
The jaffa led her to a small room she didn't recognise and left her there, closing the door behind him. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. This didn't look like a torture chamber, but then again Ba'al had the power to control gravity, so anything was possible. And yet, there was no sign of the man himself. She backed herself up against the wall, so he couldn't get her from behind, and waited. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears as her heart raced.   
  
Had she been set up by the jaffa? Taken to the wrong room, which would make her late and almost certainly incur a punishment for doing so. No, she didn't think so. This room appeared to be safe, but she didn't allow herself to relax. She couldn't afford to. Reluctantly, slowly, she walked away from the safety of the wall and into the centre of the room. It was then that she saw a door at the far end of the room, which she assumed she was supposed to go through.   
  
She flattened herself against the far wall and inched closer to the door, staying alert for any sounds that would tell her who, or what, was inside.   
  
"My love, are you going to remain outside of that door all day?" His smooth voice drifted out through the door, tinged with amusement. Gritting her teeth, Sam opened the door and went inside.   
  
The room was obviously his private chamber, as it was the most luxurious she had seen so far. The man himself was stretched lazily on a couch, and had that irritating smirk plastered on his face that made her want to punch him. So confident, so self-assured. He needed a good kick up the ass.   
  
"Well?" He asked.   
  
"What do you require of me, my lord?" She reeled off, glaring at him.   
  
"A little more grace, perhaps," he said, beckoning to her to approach him.   
  
"Pour me some wine," he ordered, waving his hand to a tall glass on the table opposite him.   
  
Pour it yourself, Sam thought, but went over to the table anyway. She began to wonder about the possibility of escape. Perhaps she could break the glass, injure him (she had very little hope of killing him) and make a run for it? No, that wouldn't work, there were too many jaffa. Was the wine a key? Could she put something in it? She was so immersed in thought that she forgot what she was supposed to be doing.   
  
"Any time today, my love," he said testily.   
  
She poured the glass and held it out for him to take from her, but his arms remained stubbornly folded across his stomach. Sam faltered - what the hell was she supposed to do now?  
  
"My lord?" She asked, holding the glass closer to him, still trying to stay at arms length away from him.   
  
"I cannot reach," he said innocently, his dark eyes burning into hers.   
  
This was not a good situation. If she got any closer to him, he'd be able to grab her and…  
  
"Which part of that did you not understand?" he asked, getting angrier.   
  
Reluctantly, she drew closer to him, annoyed to see that her hand was shaking. She took a deep breath and tried to force it to be still, but she shaking moved to her legs instead. His hand shot out suddenly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer still.   
  
"Thank you," he said, finally taking the glass from her. She took a step backwards but he pulled her closer again.   
  
"Why do you always want to run away from me?" He asked. "I could hold the key to your happiness."  
  
"I don't think so," Sam replied.   
  
"You speak, but you know nothing about it. You have not even heard my offer, he took a sip of wine and waited, expectantly.   
  
Sam laughed.   
  
"Your offer? I made a deal with you once, and once only. I'm not doing it again, that wasn't what we discussed…"  
  
He rose from the couch and stood in front of her, almost nose-to-nose.  
  
"You gave me your life in exchange for the freedom of the other two. You are mine, my love, and I can do what I wish with you," he whispered in her ear.   
  
"We're approaching the ship," Jacob said, "Now, as far as we're aware, Ba'al has about four personal jaffa in his service, and between 8-12 on the ship. The first four should only be centred around his personal quarters and the…torture room, so they should be easiest to find and take out. The others will be spread out through the ship, so take great caution."  
  
"How long before we board?" Makepeace asked, anticipation building within him.  
  
"Just under one hour," Jacob said, "Now, Doctor McKay, it might be better for you to remain here to…"  
  
"No way," McKay replied quickly, "I've not just spent the last two days trudging through sand with these guys bitching about me and breaking my computer to have to sit it out at the last hurdle. I'm going with you."  
  
Makepeace made an "Ooooooooh!" noise which McKay ignored, and Jacob raised his eyebrows.   
  
"Okay, then, doctor if you're sure."  
  
"You'll need to split into teams of five, with four focussed on defence and one to rescue major Carter. It is NOT a priority to kill lord Ba'al, you must get out of there with minimum risk to yourselves. He is a very powerful Goa'uld and has the ability to manipulate gravity, so whatever you do, do not approach him."  
  
"Well, what if he's with Major Carter?" Makepeace asked.   
  
"You'll have to approach him," Jacob said wearily, "If you can incapacitate him in any way do it, but I'll have no crusaders trying to kill him at the last minute - we can do that some other time."  
  
"You seem confident," One of the Tok'ra said to Jacob, arranging his weaponry.  
  
"No," Jacob said, "It's never wise to be confident with Ba'al - I have a great deal of respect for what he can do. He'll always be two steps ahead of us, you all need to keep that in mind."  
  
"Yes, Jacob."  
  
"We're drawing closer to the ship. Prepare to board in 40 minutes, Colonel."  
  
She pulled away from him and took another step backwards, but this time he followed her until she was backed against the wall.   
  
"I can offer you an eternal life of health and prosperity," he said softly, "You will have all the power you could ever wish for."  
  
"And what do I have to do in return?" Sam asked, sarcastically, though she already knew the answer and had no intention of becoming one.   
  
"Become the host for my new queen," he finished, "We could rule the galaxy together."  
  
He pressed his lips over hers, still holding her against the wall. A shudder of revulsion went through her and she turned her head away.   
  
"What do you say, my love?" He asked.   
  
"Over my dead body!" She replied.   
  
His eyes narrowed, and he raised the ribbon device to her forehead.   
  
"I am certain that could be arranged."  
  
The pain was blinding, forcing her eyes shut and travelling through her body in hot waves, forcing her to the floor. She could still hear him laughing as she lost consciousness.   
  
"My Lord!"  
  
Ba'al turned around angrily to find a jaffa standing just inside the door of his quarters.  
  
"I do not recall granting you permission to enter," he snarled.   
  
"Forgive me, my lord, but there are Tok'ra aboard the ship," the jaffa said, bowing his head.   
  
"What?" Ba'al snarled.  
  
"Approximately 20 of them, my Lord. They have already taken out nine jaffa, and are heading this way."  
  
"They have come for the prisoner?" Ba'al asked, looking back down at Sam on the floor.   
  
The jaffa nodded.   
  
"Well," he said thoughtfully, dragging Sam up off of the floor, "They will have had a wasted journey."  
  
"Keep going!" Jacob shouted, "We're almost there."  
  
"McKay seemed pretty pissed that you left him out of the rescue team," Makepeace said.   
  
"I don't care," Jacob replied, "Now, this is his chamber. I don't sense the presence of a symbiote, I think it's safe to go in."  
  
They were disappointed to find it empty, and Jacob smacked his fist into the wall, cursing.   
  
Makepeace was knelt on the floor, looking carefully at it.   
  
"Jacob - there's blood here. He must have only just left."  
  
"Go!" Jacob yelled, scrambling out of the room, fear giving him another burst of energy.  
  
McKay frowned at the other Tok'ra, who were satisfied that the jaffa had been taken out and were waiting for further orders from Jacob.   
  
"What if he needs our help?" McKay pestered, "Shouldn't we do something?"  
  
"We have our orders to remain here until Jacob tells us," one of them replied snootily.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," McKay replied under his breath, waiting until their backs were turned before sneaking out of the room, drawing his gun.   
  
"I'll be damned if I'm going to sit on my butt and wait for orders from a Tok'ra," he sniffed, and continued down the corridor, keeping himself flat to the wall.   
  
"Stop!"  
  
He heard a voice yell from around the corner. He instantly recognised it as Jacob's and flinched. He crept closer to the end of the wall, but didn't look round.   
  
"Do you believe you have won, Tok'ra shol'va?"  
  
That had to be Ba'al. The Goa'uld had very distinctive speech - like they'd been smoking too many woodbines. His heart began to beat faster. Oh shitbuggerblastdamn! He was standing just meters away from a system lord.   
  
"Let her go," Makepeace said, "And we won't kill you."  
  
Ba'al laughed loudly, all the time holding Sam firmly in his grasp.  
  
"You think you can kill me?"  
  
He quickly raised the hand which held the ribbon device and used it on Edelson, who was knocked back against the wall from its force. Before Jacob could fire on him, he'd activated his shield and was standing there, smirking.   
  
McKay carefully looked around the corner and saw what was happening. Shitshitshitshit….  
  
He pulled the knife from his utility belt and looked at it. This was the only weapon that could penetrate a Goa'uld force shield, but his aim was crap. If he could just incapacitate the guy…  
  
"You have had a wasted journey," Ba'al said, turning around to leave.   
  
McKay took aim, and threw the dagger.   
  
Jacob gasped as Ba'al flinched suddenly, dropping Sam on the floor with a loud thud. He reached around behind his back and his hand came back sticky with blood.   
  
"This is not over!" he promised, in a suitably dramatic voice, before collapsing to the floor as well, revealing….  
  
"DR MCKAY?" Makepeace screeched.   
  
McKay was standing there, staring at Ba'al like a rabbit caught in car headlights.   
  
"Well, I'll be damned," Jacob said, "The little science buff saved the day."  
  
McKay quickly snapped out of his trance and dropped to Sam's side on the floor.   
  
"She's still breathing," he said, feeling for a pulse, "But her pulse is weak. We need to get back on the ship quickly."  
  
"Roger that," Jacob replied, bending down and pulling his daughter into his arms. "Someone get Edelson, and let's haul ass back to the ship."  
  
"Sam?"  
  
She opened her eyes wearily, surprised to see her father looking down at her.   
  
"Dad?" she asked, "Is that really you?"  
  
"Yeah," he smiled, stroking a hand through her hair, "We're taking you home. You're okay."  
  
Her eyes drooped shut again, but when she felt someone touching her hand they snapped open again.   
  
"Hey, lover!"  
  
She looked at him in disbelief.   
  
"Just when I thought today couldn't get any worse…" she groaned.   
  
"You love me really," he smiled.  
  
"Yeah, when hell freezes over," she said, wincing as the pain of her ordeal finally started to get through.   
  
"Do me a favour, honey, and shut up for once in your life," McKay said, looking concerned rather than amused. Sam merely nodded and closed her eyes.   
  
That was when he knew she was in a bad way - he'd gotten no acid reply to calling her 'honey.'  
  
"Now," came a voice from behind him, "She might not have kicked your ass for saying that, but if I hear it again, I will."  
  
McKay blushed as Jacob Carter sat beside him.   
  
"Ah, now, I…"  
  
"You did good, McKay," Jacob said, slapping a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I…thanks," he replied, for once lost for words.   
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author's Note: Again, sorry about the delay. Please send feedback to Well done for getting this far in the series. Who wants another chapter?? 


	5. Circle of Lies

Title: Circle of Lies  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback:   
  
Spoilers: Redemption part 2  
  
You need to have read 'Full Circle', 'Circles of the Mind', 'Splitting the Circle' and 'Empty Circles.'  
  
Summary: Sam's back, but her problems are far from over when Debbie acquaints herself with a powerful enemy of SG-1, and both are determined to end her career at the SGC.   
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season.   
  
Author Notes: Yep, Colonel Makepeace shouldn't be in this story…but I kind of forgot the events of 'Shades of Grey'. Oops.   
  
MCKAY WARNING: Dr McKay is, once again, nice in this story so if you don't like the sound of that, don't read it.   
  
------------ Indicates flashbacks.   
  
Archive: Gateworld,   
  
Circle of Lies   
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
"It's Rodney the Goa'uld Slayer!"   
  
So help him God, if one more person shouted that to him in the corridor he would…  
  
"Well, Doctor," a horribly familiar voice drawled from behind him, "Who would have thought it? The little runt saves the day!"  
  
"Colonel Welling," he said, with a false smile and a curtsy, "What an absolute delight to see you up and well again."  
  
"No thanks to your scientist bitch," Debbie sneered.  
  
McKay gritted his teeth.   
  
"How'd you figure that one?"  
  
"I don't have time to waste standing here making idle conversation with fools like yourself, Rodney," she smiled, "We have a meeting with General Hammond. Unfortunately, you are included."  
  
"I was just on my way there. After you, mi'lady," he said, bowing down before her.   
  
"Asshole," she spat, walking off.   
  
"So I've been told." He replied.   
  
"First of all, I would like to offer my congratulations to the rescue team for completing their objective. You all did well people. I've already contacted the Tok'ra liaison officers and thanked them for their help. Majors Carter and Edelson are both well on their way to recovery in the infirmary."  
  
"Though it pains me - very much - to say it," Makepeace grimaced, "We owe it to Dr McKay here. He was the one that distracted Ba'al long enough for us to make our escape."  
  
"Yes, doctor. For your bravery you will be awarded the Air medal…" General Hammond started, but Debbie interrupted with a snort.   
  
"With respect, General Hammond, all he did was stab a guy in the back."  
  
"Maybe you should get one?" McKay grinned, "After all, you've been doing that work for years!"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him, and Makepeace tried not to smirk.   
  
"If we could remain objective, people?" Hammond asked impatiently, "This de-brief will not take long."  
  
But it did. McKay fidgeted on his chair like a small child at the dentist, driving the others to distraction. He had to fight back the urge to cheer when they were let out, and made his way down to the infirmary to see Sam.   
  
She was still pale, he noticed, but her eyes looked a little brighter. One of her wrists was bandaged, and she was bruised, but there had been no other serious physical injuries. He was more worried about her emotionally.   
  
Sam smiled as she saw him peeking around the edge of the curtain.   
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey," he replied, trying unsuccessfully to hide a bunch of flowers behind his back. He caught her looking, and blushed.   
  
"These? Um…they're for Major Edelson, and…"  
  
She chuckled softly, and he sat down beside her.   
  
"I hear you've got a new occupation," She grinned.   
  
"Don't you start!" He warned, "I've already had people shouting at me in the corridors, giving me stakes and crossbows."  
  
"You saved my life," she said, serious now, "Thank you."  
  
"Ah, it was nothing. I just…well, you could say I did it by accident."  
  
"You still did it. Stop trying to dodge a compliment, McKay." She said.   
  
"I'm glad to have you back," he smiled.   
  
"Just so you've got someone to insult again," she joked.   
  
"No," he said, carefully taking her hand in his, "Because I was worried about you. When I found out that you'd all been taken…"  
  
Sam's eyes dropped to the bedcover in front of her, but McKay didn't let go of her hand.  
  
"Sorry," he offered, "You know how I am with making conversation."  
  
A small smile played around the corners of her mouth.   
  
"Do hospital gowns still turn you on?" She asked.   
  
"Only when you're wearing them," he replied, straight faced.   
  
They both laughed at the private joke, but then they heard the telltale pitter-patter of Janet's feet on the floor, and knew that the visit was about to be cut short.   
  
"Take care of yourself," he said, gently placing a kiss on her forehead.   
  
Somewhat stunned, Sam sat back in the bed and offered him a weak smile as he left.   
  
"I'll be back," he promised, in a macho, terminator-esque voice.  
  
Had he just kissed her? Really? Maybe she was imagining it…a side effect of the meds Janet was giving her…  
  
It wasn't as if they hadn't done it before. Well, she'd kissed him. On the cheek - but that had been a completely different situation. Completely different. There was nothing in it. Was there?  
  
The next morning, Jack was pacing around the briefing room, waiting for General Hammond. He still had to give his full debrief from the mission - and he wasn't looking forward to it. Having heard the news about Sam's safe return, he wanted to see her, talk to her. But Hammond, Debbie and whoever-the-hell else kept getting in his way.   
  
"Colonel. Please have a seat. I know you want to get this done as quickly as possible, so…"  
  
"I'll get started right away," he finished. "When we gated out to the planet we could see nothing out of the ordinary. We were just making our way through some bushes when we saw a large group of jaffa heading right for us."  
  
"Continue."  
  
"I ordered Teal'c and Danny to get back through the gate, to send for reinforcements…" Jack said, his voice trailing off. Not that they'd received any…  
  
"And what did you, Colonel Welling and Major Carter do next?"  
  
(We had a freakin' huge argument)   
  
"We…uh…deliberated about what our next move would be."  
  
"And?…"  
  
(We continued having a freakin' huge argument, before Ba'al ran up behind us)  
  
"Lord Ba'al…well, he snuck up on us sir, for want of a better expression. We didn't see him coming."  
  
"But doesn't Major Carter have the ability to sense the presence of a Goa'uld symbiote?"  
  
"She does, yes."  
  
(Which is why we blamed her)  
  
---------------------  
  
"Why the hell didn't you sense his presence?" Jack asked, casting a look of disdain over at her.   
  
"It's not like a light switch," Sam replied, "You can't just flip it on and off!"  
  
"You usually feel it!" Jack continued, "The one thing I could rely on was for you to feel it!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry I've been such a disappointment," She said sarcastically.   
  
"Not half as sorry as we are," Debbie said.   
  
---------------------  
  
"Then, the jaffa came and asked for d… Colonel Welling. I tried to get them to take me instead, but they refused and took Carter as well."  
  
Hammond sighed.   
  
"It was a while before they brought Colonel Welling back. He'd used the ribbon device on her, but nothing more serious than that. Carter was still missing, Colonel Welling didn't know where she was either."  
  
(Not that she cared, either)  
  
"Anyway, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, the door was opened and they brought Carter back. She was…badly injured. Knife wounds."  
  
The general was silent, allowing Jack to continue. Part of him felt sorry for the man - but the other part couldn't get the cruelty he'd shown towards Major Carter out of his mind.   
  
"When she woke up she was…obviously agitated."  
  
-------------------  
  
"It's not like that," Jack began, looking back over his shoulder at Debbie, who was still unconscious.  
  
"It IS like that. What are you going to do when she wakes up, hmm? Go back to hating me again?" Sam demanded, wincing as the pain in her chest intensified.   
  
At that moment, Debbie began to stir. Jack cast a look back at Debbie, and then to Sam, desperation in his eyes.   
  
"Carter.."  
  
"Please, Jack," Sam said softly, curling up in the corner again, "Just leave me alone. I've gotten used to it."   
  
-------------------  
  
"Colonel Welling was taken again. When she came back, Carter was taken. It was…then that Colonel Welling informed me that…"  
  
"That what, son?" Hammond asked.   
  
"That she had given up information to Ba'al of a…personal nature. Personal to myself and Major Carter. She didn't realise the damage he could do with it. When Carter came back…he'd used the Blood of Sokar, so she was wary of the both of us. Incredibly wary - she thought we were a part of another hallucination. That was when they came for me."  
  
"I know this is hard," Hammond said, "But we need to know exactly what went on."  
  
"I was tortured," he said shortly, "And when I got back to the cell, Carter was on her own. She was trying to help me, to keep me awake. I…we argued a little. Then…things get a little hazy from here…"  
  
"Just tell me what you remember."  
  
"She said - she said she might have been able to cut a deal to get myself and Colonel Welling to safety."  
  
"You told her not to go ahead with it?"  
  
"Of course I did. I told her that leaving her behind wasn't an option. I ordered her not to do it, and then I just blacked out."  
  
"And that's all you remember?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Sorry if it isn't enough," he added bitterly.   
  
"We'll combine it with Major Carter's when she's ready," Hammond said, "And that should give us the full picture. Thank you for your help, Colonel."  
  
"It must have been terrible," Kelly sympathised, patting Debbie's arm.   
  
"She's incurable," Debbie agreed, "Sits there telling me to go to hell, and everything."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. She was completely out of line - it was all I could do not to hit her!"  
  
"Are you going to be giving her a court martial?"  
  
"I haven't decided yet. I need to speak with General Hammond, but I think it should be possible."  
  
Kelly grinned.   
  
"Kicking her out of the SGC - Damn, Deb, I've wanted to do that for years!"  
  
"Well, somebody has to do it," she grumbled, "And I don't mind telling you, it'll be a relief when she's out of here."  
  
"Are you sure you'll be able to do it?" Kelly persisted.   
  
"There are many advantages to being a Colonel," Debbie smiled, "And this is one of them. I outrank her, I'm sleeping with the man who used to be her CO, and I'm going to kick her out of the SGC for good - what can go wrong?"  
  
"I take my hat off to ya, Deb," Kelly said, "Just make sure you do a good job of it."  
  
"Come on," Debbie said, "Let's get out of here. I'm fed up of talking about her."  
  
Daniel peered around the edge of the infirmary door and smiled as he saw Sam sitting up in bed, looking bored. She was obviously feeling more herself if she was attempting to escape from the infirmary.  
  
"Hey," he grinned, "I bought coffee and cookies."  
  
She smiled in return, and beckoned him to sit beside her.   
  
"How've you been, Danny?" she asked, as he pulled her into a hug.   
  
"Worried sick about you," he replied seriously, reluctantly letting go of her.   
  
"Well, I'm back and pining for my computer, so you can stop worrying."  
  
"You look…better," he said awkwardly.   
  
"I feel better for being back," Sam said, trying to ease the awkward feeling between the two of them, "And away from the scrutiny of a certain Colonel…"  
  
"Which one?" Daniel snorted, "They both seem to be bad news at the moment."  
  
"Colonel Welling has developed her violent dislike for me into something…well, I'm not sure.."  
  
"What?" Daniel asked.   
  
"It's just that…she gave away personal information to Ba'al that helped him torture me…and I don't know if it was just because she's inexperienced with the Goa'uld."  
  
"She did what?" Daniel spluttered, "Next time I get my hands on her I'll…"  
  
Sam held up her hand to him.   
  
"Don't give her the satisfaction, Danny. She's got more than one over on me, and I don't want her doing it to you."  
  
"What do you mean, more than one?" Daniel asked, suspiciously, "What else did she do?"  
  
Sam shifted uncomfortably in the bed for a moment, so Daniel reached down and took her hand in his.   
  
"You need to talk about this," he said calmly, "I know you probably don't want to, but keeping it all inside won't do you any good either."  
  
"Jack had just come back from his session with Ba'al. He was badly injured, but Debbie and I still managed to have a…disagreement."  
  
"About what?"  
  
---------------------  
  
"Ba'al mentioned something about a better offer for Jack's freedom."  
  
"Really?" She choked.   
  
"Hm. Well, whoever the hell it is, I wish they would just get on with it! He clearly doesn't have that much time left!"  
  
"Maybe it's not that simple," Sam stammered.   
  
"WHAT?" Debbie exploded, "How much more simple can it get, Major? If he doesn't get out of here, he…will…DIE! Christ, you're so stupid!"  
  
---------------------  
  
"She's got a nerve," Daniel growled, "But what is she talking about? A better offer? Tell me you didn't, Sam."  
  
"He asked me once. I told him to go to hell. But then I got back there and Jack was so badly hurt, and it was all my fault…"  
  
"Whoa, back up!" Daniel said, "Your fault? Let me guess who put that idea into your head!"  
  
"But she's right!" Sam said sadly, "I should have sensed the presence of the Goa'uld, we could have got away…"  
  
"Don't you dare beat yourself up over this," Daniel said, trying not to let the anger he was feeling show in his voice, "You already went above and beyond the call of duty!"  
  
Sam shook her head, fighting back the tears.   
  
"You don't understand, Danny. All these years I've been an embarrassment to him, he's been bored with me…after everything that happened two years ago I still felt terrible. I still felt like I was in his debt."  
  
Daniel gently framed her face in his hands.   
  
"You don't owe that man anything," he said, "Do you hear me?"  
  
She nodded, and Daniel embraced her again. Anger radiated inside of him like a bomb. Who in the hell did Debbie think she was? Making out that the whole situation was Sam's fault, forcing her into making a decision that she might otherwise have refused. Daniel seldom wanted to resort to violence, but he hoped that Teal'c was with him when he next saw Debbie…  
  
"Sorry," she murmured, "Getting all emotional on your shirt!"  
  
"This shirt? It's an old one. Besides, I don't mind. Think I should start renting it out?"  
  
She sniffed and managed a smile for him, which he returned.   
  
"You need to get some rest," he said softly, "You've been through so much, Sam."  
  
She nodded, and tried to get comfy in the bed. Daniel left quietly, stopping at the door to Jack's office. The rage began to build inside him again as he raised his hand to knock on the door…  
  
…but then he stopped, and lowered his hand. Getting into a shouting match with Jack wouldn't solve Sam's problems, only make them worse. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked away, shaking his head at the unfairness of the world he was living in.   
  
McKay winced as he heard the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' theme tune being played on a portable stereo in the commissary. He was about to turn around and make a quick exit when he was ambushed by several marines.   
  
"Think you can do our job as well now, do you?" One snarled.   
  
"Oh, no, I'm sure my skills in grunting, blasting the crap out of things and generally being an asshole are nowhere as good as yours!"  
  
The marine growled and swung a punch at him, but he ducked.   
  
"Okay, guys, how about putting me down now?" He said, trying not to make his voice sound like a squeak.   
  
"How about no?" the second marine laughed.  
  
"Release this man from your grasp," a loud voice said from behind the marines.   
  
McKay turned around in surprise to see Teal'c standing there, his arms folded.   
  
"Or what?" One of them challenged. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow and cracked his knuckles. This was something that O'Neill had taught him how to do a couple of years ago. He hoped that it would aid him in repelling the marines, as he didn't really want to start a fight. With the marines, anyway.   
  
Slowly, they slumped off, giving McKay a punch on the way out for good measure.   
  
"Uh…thanks," McKay said, holding out his hand to Teal'c.   
  
Teal'c took it and shook it firmly. McKay could almost feel his eyeballs rattling with the force of it.   
  
"You saved Major Carter's life. If you respect her, you have my respect."  
  
"Right," McKay nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "Is she okay?"  
  
"I have yet to speak with her myself," Teal'c said, "But Daniel Jackson says she appears to be improving."  
  
McKay nodded. "That's good to hear."  
  
"You have a great concern for her well-being," Teal'c commented, watching with perverse satisfaction as McKay blushed.   
  
"No more than anyone else," he said, trying to avoid the issue.   
  
"I do not believe that to be correct, Dr McKay. I have observed how the two of you have bonded. You have been a good friend to her."  
  
He'd been watching them? McKay frowned. That was kind of weird. Creepy, even. Still, the guy had saved him from having the snot beaten out of him by the marines, so he couldn't really complain. After exchanging a few more words, McKay left the commissary and went back to his lab.   
  
Debbie returned after the lunch break and went to General Hammond, a brown folder under her arm. She knocked sharply on the door and went inside.   
  
Hammond was not alone. With him was Senator Kinsey, a long-time enemy of the Stargate programme and SG-1. Hammond didn't look pleased. A smile curved the corners of her mouth. If this man wasn't an ally with SG-1, he was an ally with her.   
  
"General, Senator," she said, saluting them.   
  
Hammond regarded her warily, and the folder tucked under her arm even more so.   
  
"What can I do for you, Colonel Welling?" He asked, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer.   
  
"I know this is a bad time, General, but I feel the need to take disciplinary action against one of your officers."  
  
Hammond's expression was grim. Kinsey sat up in his chair a little more, interested.   
  
"Proceed," Kinsey butted in, ignoring the glare Hammond sent his way.   
  
"This particular officer was insubordinate towards me and Colonel O'Neill. She used bad language, refused to obey orders and showed a distinct problem with her attitude."  
  
"Let me guess," Hammond said dryly, "You want to Court-Martial Major Carter?"  
  
Kinsey rubbed his hands together, pretending not to be pleased.   
  
"This is…unfortunate," he said, though his expression clearly showed otherwise, "The insubordination must have been bad for you to consider action."  
  
Debbie smiled at him, but the news was not going down so well with General Hammond.  
  
"Colonel, quite frankly I am disgusted at your ability to manipulate, degrade and insult your fellow officers. To even consider a court martial after everything that she has been through…"  
  
"Colonel O'Neill and I were tortured just the same as she, and we still managed to remain civil towards each other," she reeled off, fighting back a grin. This had nothing to do with the fact that they were in a relationship, of course. Nothing at all.   
  
"You…" Hammond began, his face turning red.   
  
"Ah, General," Kinsey smiled, "I have often told you that SG-1 was trouble and needed discipline. I think you should listen to what the Colonel has to say and act on her report. You do have the documentation?" He asked Debbie.   
  
"Of course," she replied, handing him the folder.   
  
"Thank you," he said, taking over from General Hammond who frankly didn't trust himself to speak to her. "I'll set this in motion, Colonel. You did a good job."  
  
As the two of them left his office, Hammond put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening. Kinsey had taken the decision right out of his hands, and that Colonel Welling….  
  
He clenched his fists, and sighed deeply. He would have to inform Sam of what was going on, but he felt as if he was kicking a puppy when it was down.   
  
As she said goodbye to Kinsey, Debbie made a quick detour to the infirmary. She re-applied her lipstick before she entered the room, and flashed Sam an evil smile.   
  
"Colonel," she said dryly, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"  
  
"Major, I would watch that tongue of yours," Debbie shot back, "It's getting you into a lot of trouble."  
  
"Such as?" Sam asked, determined not to be put off by this woman.   
  
"I am serving you with an order for a court martial," she said, slowly and calmly, watching with glee as Sam's eyes widened in disbelief, "For insubordination towards your fellow officers."  
  
Janet sprang up out of her chair in her office and stormed over to Sam's bed.   
  
"Colonel Welling!" She hollered, "I don't recall inviting you in here. Please leave my infirmary NOW."  
  
"Of course, Doctor," Debbie said, smiling sweetly at Sam, "I'll see you in court, honey."  
  
She swept out of the room and was gone as quickly as she had arrived. Sam looked blankly at the piece of paper in her hand. After everything she'd done…what she'd been through at the hands of Ba'al…now this. Her job. She'd lost almost everything else.   
  
She felt numb. She didn't hear Janet's hurried reassurances, didn't feel her trying to prize the piece of paper out of her hand. She turned over in bed and buried her face in the pillow, trying to find the strength within her to fight another battle.   
  
To say that Janet was angry would be an understatement. She had never liked Debbie anyway, but this was just taking the piss. Sam had saved Debbie's life, sacrificed her own and in turn for this, she was going to get dragged through the courts and, at best, would lose her job.   
  
Janet looked over at her friend, heart aching. She wished there was something that she could do, but the slip of paper was still firmly in her grasp. She took Sam's other hand in hers and held onto it, feeling completely helpless.   
  
When General Hammond entered, he knew in an instant that he had arrived too late.   
  
"Did you know about this?" Janet asked sadly.   
  
"I was just on my way to tell you," he said coldly. "Doctor, Major - I will do everything in my power to stop this from going ahead, but I have bad news. Colonel Welling has just become the new best friend of Senator Kinsey."  
  
A whole new wave of gloom swept over Sam. She wished that the floor would swallow her up.   
  
"Why is she doing this?" Janet asked, shaking her head and gripping Sam's hand tighter, but getting no response.   
  
"I wish I knew that, Doctor," Hammond said wistfully, feeling a knot in his stomach as he looked at Sam. She had turned away from them, her eyes staring blankly at an unknown spot on the wall. He left the infirmary quietly, wondering how the hell he was going to unravel this mess.  
  
McKay and Daniel, the most unlikely of companions, were making their way to the infirmary to see Sam when they saw a very smug looking Colonel Welling heading towards the elevators.   
  
"This can't be good," McKay said, and Daniel nodded in agreement.   
  
When they got there, Janet was pulling the curtain around Sam's bed. She motioned for them to go into her office, ignoring their pleading looks to see Sam. When she closed the door behind her, she blew out a long breath.   
  
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked, "We saw Debbie looking smug a minute ago, and…"  
  
"She's organised a court martial against Sam," Janet said. The information took a while to sink in.   
  
"WHAT?" Daniel and McKay exploded simultaneously.   
  
"Insubordination towards her and Jack," Janet said.   
  
"Well, what does Jack have to say about all of this?" Daniel snapped.   
  
"He doesn't know anything about it," Janet replied, "He left the base a couple of hours ago."  
  
"Right," Daniel said, shrugging into his jacket, "This has got to stop, and it has got to stop NOW."  
  
"Daniel, what are you going to do?" Janet asked warily.   
  
"I'm going to tell Jack - maybe he can talk some sense into Debbie, or get Kinsey to back off. This whole situation is a disgrace."  
  
He stormed off. Janet sat back in her chair, exhausted. She'd never seen Daniel so angry.   
  
"Can I see her?" McKay asked quietly.   
  
"I suppose so," Janet said, "But please don't upset her."  
  
"I try not to," he joked, "But it seems to be a habit of mine."  
  
He pulled the curtain back and his heart did a somersault as he looked at her. He could see the bit of paper crunched in her fist, but her face was turned against him.   
  
"Hell, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, I turned up!"  
  
She turned to face him, but didn't smile.   
  
"There is a way out of this, Sam," he said, tying to sound reassuring. "Hammond's working on it, Daniel's going to see what he can do, and when Teal'c finds out…he'll be on the warpath."  
  
"I'm screwed," she smiled bitterly, "And you know it. The minute Kinsey got involved, my fate was sealed."  
  
"C'mon," he said nervously, "You're starting to sound like me."  
  
"I don't see a way out this time," she said. "She's got me well and truly cornered. This is the reward I get for saving her ass."  
  
"You're a better woman than me," McKay answered, "I wouldn't have done it. Why did you?"  
  
"I've been the bane of my CO's life for the best part of ten years," she murmured, "I thought the least I could do would be to get him back to the SGC with the woman he loved."  
  
"You didn't owe anything to them - you should have got yourself out."  
  
"You should have left me there."  
  
That knocked him off balance.   
  
"Excuse me?" he asked.   
  
"With Ba'al. You should have left me with Ba'al. I should never have come back."  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author's Note: Hope you liked it - please send feedback to   
  
So…let's say if, theoretically, you could get your revenge on Debbie, how would you do it?? Comments to the above address will be gratefully received. 


	6. Circles Revealed

Title: Circles Revealed  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback:  
  
Spoilers: You need to have read 'Full Circle', 'Circles of the Mind', 'Splitting the Circle', 'Empty Circles' and 'Circle of Lies.' Also spoilers for Redemption parts 1 and 2  
  
Summary: McKay finds incriminating evidence of Debbie's past, but even as she loses Jack's support, things aren't looking good for Sam…  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season. MCKAY WARNING: Yep, he's nice in this one too, so if you don't like him, don't read this.  
  
Author Notes: 7th in the 'Circles' Series. Please send feedback to  
  
Archive: Gateworld,  
  
-------- indicates flashbacks  
  
Circles Revealed  
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
He put his beer down on the floor, wondering who was knocking frantically on his door at this time of night. He hoped to goodness it wasn't that double glazing salesman…  
  
When he opened his door, the person waiting outside didn't even wait to be asked inside. He pushed past him quickly. Jack could feel the anger radiating off of his friend before he even spoke.  
  
"Daniel? What can I do for you?" He asked dryly.  
  
"We need to talk," Daniel snapped.  
  
"We do?" Jack said.  
  
Daniel snarled, and his fist shot out towards Jack's face. However, Jack's reflexes were faster and he grabbed Daniel's wrist, stopping his fist just millimetres from his nose.  
  
"That doesn't look like talking, Danny boy," he replied.  
  
"Your wonderful Debbie is a cold-hearted, manipulative bitch!"  
  
"You have some evidence to back up this theory?" Jack asked, still keeping hold of Daniel's wrist. He'd never seen him so angry.  
  
"Debbie, your wonderful lady friend and all-round good Samaritan, has just served Sam with an order for a court martial!"  
  
Now, he hadn't been expecting that. He loosened his grip on Daniel's wrist, his expression blank.  
  
"She what?"  
  
"She is taking Sam to court. Insubordination towards the two of you, would you believe it?"  
  
"Insubordination? What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Why don't you ask your girlfriend?" Daniel shouted angrily, "You can get your story straight!"  
  
"Daniel," Jack growled, "I didn't know anything about this!"  
  
"Oh, right!" Daniel shot back.  
  
"Dammit, I'm telling you the truth. What exactly is Debbie accusing her of?"  
  
"Insubordination. Using abusive language, disobeying her orders, hell, even hitting her!"  
  
Jack ran a hand back through his hair, wishing that he would wake up soon from this horrible nightmare.  
  
"Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"  
  
"I didn't know, Daniel," he said, "Honest to God! How is she?"  
  
"Who? Sam, or Debbie?"  
  
"You know damned well who I'm talking about!" Jack snapped.  
  
"How do you think she is? She's been tortured, she gave her life for you in order to be tortured some more, she's laying in the infirmary feeling like crap and then the Ice Maiden comes along and slaps a court-martial on her! She's distraught!"  
  
"I need to talk to Debbie."  
  
"Well, you'd better make it quick. The two of you have to make out your reports to senator Kinsey for tomorrow."  
  
"Kinsey?" Jack snarled, "What the hell is he doing in all of this?"  
  
"He's Debbie's new best friend. He's wanted Sam out of the SGC for years, Jack, and Debbie's just handed him the perfect opportunity!"  
  
"Wait a minute…she wants me to do it with her? Charge Sam? She's said that she was insubordinate towards me?"  
  
Daniel clapped his hands together, slowly, sarcastically.  
  
Jack swallowed, pulling on his coat.  
  
"Daniel, I will not stand up in front of a court and let Sam lose her job. I haven't got the faintest idea what Debbie is going on about."  
  
"Well, you're the only one with the slightest chance of talking her out of it," Daniel said, his voice more sad now than angry, "You'd better knock some sense into her before anybody else, because believe me there's a long queue, and it's getting longer every day."  
  
McKay sat in front of his computer, staring aimlessly at the screen. Damn that woman. Stupid cow. What the hell was she doing, trying to hurt Sam? She'd not done a thing to her, but now they were all caught up in her hate campaign!  
  
Sam's position wasn't looking good. He knew this, as did Sam. He wished that there was something he could do to help her. Still, maybe there was. He could do some digging, couldn't he? See what he found out about the infamous colonel. His mind made up, he brought up the search engine and typed in her name.  
  
As he scrolled down the list of results, his eye fell on something interesting. After reading a few paragraphs, his face broke into a smile. He printed out the sheets, and put them into a folder.  
  
"Bingo," he smirked.  
  
"Jack!" Debbie smiled, as he walked into her office, "I haven't seen you for so long! It's great to have you back here."  
  
She tried to pull him into a hug, but he stood rigidly still.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked, softly.  
  
"What's wrong? What the hell are you doing with Sam? A court martial?"  
  
The smile disappeared, and was replaced with a frown.  
  
"It's not just me, Jack. She behaved inappropriately towards the pair of us."  
  
"Behaved inappropriately? What are you talking about?" He shouted.  
  
"Poor Jack," Debbie said quietly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "You were unconscious for most of it. Little bitch thought she could get away with being rude to me, if you weren't listening."  
  
"Don't call her that," he said, "And I want you to tell me exactly what is in your report. Now."  
  
"Why?" she asked innocently, "Don't you believe me?"  
  
"No!" he yelled, "What are you putting in the damned report?"  
  
The ship opened, and they heard the familiar noise of jaffa footsteps. The sand did little to muffle their danger, and Sam felt adrenaline begin coursing through her veins.  
  
"How many?" Debbie asked, peering through the cover of a large shrub.  
  
"At least 12," Sam replied, "I think there could be more."  
  
"Did I ask you?" Debbie said, hotly.  
  
Sam frowned at the woman next to her.  
  
"Do you not think you could lay aside your intense hatred of me for just a second? There are slightly more important things going on here, Colonel."  
  
"That? That's not insubordination! You'll have to have more than that!"  
  
"Oh, I do," Debbie said, her mouth turning up into a smile.  
  
"Why the hell didn't you sense his presence?" Jack asked, casting a look of disdain over at her.  
  
"It's not like a light switch," Sam replied, "You can't just flip it on and off!"  
  
"You usually feel it!" Jack continued, "The one thing I could rely on was for you to feel it!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry I've been such a disappointment," She said sarcastically.  
  
"Not half as sorry as we are," Debbie said.  
  
"Oh, go to hell!" Sam retorted, pulling her knees up to her chest.  
  
"How about that? She told me to go to hell. That's not exactly showing respect for a superior officer, is it?"  
  
"You asked for that one," Jack retorted.  
  
"And you were doing exactly the same," Debbie smiled, "You're in this as deep as I am, Jack, whether you like it or not!"  
  
"Damn you, Carter!" Debbie shouted, "I'm asking you a serious question, and you think this is FUNNY?"  
  
Sam smirked, and looked over at Debbie.  
  
"I'm going to die. We're all going to be tortured to death…or worse, by the most brutal system lord who has ever roamed the planet, and you know what really pisses me off?"  
  
Debbie looked angry.  
  
"I've got to die, with only YOU for company!"  
  
"She was lying. Being sarcastic. Now, as a minor officer, is she or is she not required to be polite and show respect when addressing a senior officer?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but…"  
  
"There's more, Jack. You were unconscious for most of this. You were hurt badly. I was so scared, and she…" Debbie sniffed.  
  
"Oh, save me the theatrics!" Jack groaned, "What else?" ---------------------  
  
"What are you gonna do?" Sam laughed, "Hit me? Go ahead."  
  
Debbie bit her lip and sat back down again, as far away from Sam as she could possibly manage.  
  
"You're not worth the effort," she snapped.  
  
"No, and if Jack hasn't told you about Charlie yet, he clearly thinks the same about you!"  
  
"Which reminds me," Debbie said, sidling closer to him again, "You still haven't told me who Charlie is."  
  
"That isn't the issue here," he said, "Are you done?"  
  
"No, not quite."  
  
"He's getting worse," Sam said quietly.  
  
"Well, that's obvious," She snapped again. "Ba'al mentioned something about a better offer for Jack's freedom."  
  
Sam paled, but Debbie didn't notice.  
  
"Really?" She choked.  
  
"Hm. Well, whoever the hell it is, I wish they would just get on with it! He clearly doesn't have that much time left!"  
  
"Maybe it's not that simple," Sam stammered.  
  
"Showing a lack of concern and thought for your condition," Debbie barrelled on, oblivious to the fact that Jack's face was turning an angry red.  
  
"You don't get it, do you?" he asked, "The reason she was showing a 'lack of concern' or whatever the hell you're going to call it, is because she was the one who made the better offer! The only reason we got out of there alive was because she bargained with him! She would stay if he let us go!"  
  
"And why would she do that?" Debbie asked, "She doesn't like either of us. How can you know that she isn't making it up?"  
  
"I don't have time for this," he said, turning around to leave, "And you can stick that report. I'm not helping you do this."  
  
"You have to, I've already told Senator Kinsey…"  
  
"He can stick it too!" Jack shouted, "I…am…not…helping…you! Got it?"  
  
"Jack," she purred, "You have to. You wouldn't want the Joint Chiefs finding out how you seduced your new 2IC, would you?"  
  
Jack's eyes widened.  
  
"Are you blackmailing me?" He asked. "As I recall, Colonel, it was you who was sprawling all over me in O'Malley's that night, and I will happily tell the court that!"  
  
"You'd still lose your job, though," she said, with an acid smile.  
  
"You know what?" Jack asked, quietly. "I don't give a damn any more. I'm sick of this job, and I'm sick of you. Do your worst."  
  
And with that, he left the room. Debbie smashed her fist angrily into her desk. She'd been counting on his support to strengthen her case. Damn him, she should never have gotten involved with him in the first place. Now she would have to bring them both down. The little bitch and her CO, rotting in a military jail somewhere. She rubbed her hands together, and sat down to make a phone call.  
  
"Senator? Yes, it's Colonel Welling. I'm afraid we've had a bit of a problem with Colonel O'Neill."  
  
Sam sat back in her chair, happy to be back in her lab. The familiar humming of her machines and the smell of coffee relaxed her. She had peace and quiet, having no idea where McKay had gone and not really caring about anyone else.  
  
She smiled as she looked over at McKay's desk. Someone had changed his computer background. He was going to flip when he saw it. It was a picture of Buffy the vampire slayer with his head superimposed on top of it. He was holding a crossbow in one hand and an axe in the other. She had to admit that the idea of McKay taking down a Goa'uld was laughable, but it didn't belittle the fact that he had saved her life.  
  
That smarmy doctor she had hated for many months when she first met him, when he'd got her electrocuted and shamelessly flirted with her. He had been the one who had freed her from that nightmare. Jeez, her life was so screwed up. She looked back at her own computer, and the half-written report on the screen. She was nervous about having to face Debbie in court. The woman had friends in high places, and seemed to be able to get away with murder - she didn't suppose that justice for her was going to factor highly in this equation.  
  
Just as she was considering this, there was a knock at the door. She swallowed nervously and closed the report down on her computer.  
  
"Come in," she said.  
  
Jack sidled in, and closed the door gently behind him.  
  
"Colonel?" she asked, her defensive walls instantly shooting up around her.  
  
"I know I'm the last person you want to see at the moment," he began.  
  
"Second to last." She interrupted. Undeterred, he continued.  
  
"But I want to talk to you. It's the least I deserve, but I'd be grateful if you'd listen to me."  
  
"Go ahead," she murmured, "I'm listening."  
  
"I had no idea about the court martial," he said, waving a hand at her to stop her reply, "And I certainly don't support it."  
  
"Your lady friend won't like that," Sam said.  
  
"No, she doesn't. And it looks like she's stabbed me in the back as well. I'm set to lose my job too, if things go her way."  
  
"If you're looking for sympathy, Colonel," Sam said dryly, "You've come to the wrong woman."  
  
"I'm on your side!" he said, desperately, "Can't you see that?"  
  
"No!" she said, trying to stand up but hissing in pain as her bad leg protested. Jack stood helplessly in front of her, wishing he could help her but knowing that it wouldn't be well received.  
  
"All I'm saying is…if you need my help, which I'm sure you don't want to admit, I'm here. I'm not going to agree with Debbie, I'm not going to help her win this case. All I want you to think about is this. If we're divided in court, she's going to slaughter us. If we can work together at this, we might just be in with a chance."  
  
"Why should I believe you?" She asked, "You just want me to help you keep your job!"  
  
"No, I don't give a damn about the job! I'm getting too old for this…but if you're going down, Debbie is going to take me down with you. I think our chances would be improved if we worked together."  
  
"I don't trust you any more," Sam said, her eyes shining with tears that she angrily fought back.  
  
"I know," Jack replied, closing the distance between them, "And I don't trust myself half of the time! But just tell me this. You felt the same when we were with Ba'al, didn't you?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"So then… why? Why did you do it, Sam? You saved my life, and I sure as hell didn't deserve it."  
  
"No, and I certainly wouldn't have done it," an angry voice from behind him said.  
  
Jack turned around to see McKay standing in the doorway, a folder tucked under his arm.  
  
"Doctor," he said, making an attempt to be civil. McKay ignored it.  
  
"Is he upsetting you?" he asked Sam.  
  
"No," Sam said, sitting back down in her chair again as her leg began protesting in earnest, "No, he's not. Could we please have a few more minutes?"  
  
McKay looked between the two of them, and his scowl deepened.  
  
"You've got five minutes," he snapped at Jack, "And then I want you the hell out of my lab."  
  
He strolled out, slamming the door behind him. Jack watched the doctor retreating, open-mouthed.  
  
"Is he always like that?" he asked.  
  
"He's concerned for me," Sam said, "The way you used to be once."  
  
"Sam, please…"  
  
"You wanted to know why I saved you?" she said, wiping away a tear as it rolled down her face.  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I saved you, because even though you've been such a bastard to me, and you've hurt me so badly, destroyed our friendship….I still have feelings for you."  
  
She turned away from him, missing the series of emotions that played across his face. Shock, anger, disappointment…hurt.  
  
"I…" he began, but couldn't find the words.  
  
"Just go," she mumbled, "Please."  
  
He turned and left the lab, closing the door behind him. He leant back against it and closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotion that was threatening to engulf him. She still loved him. After everything he'd done, the way he'd behaved, she still felt exactly the same. He walked off down the corridor, meeting McKay halfway. The doctor offered him a glare and moved away without a word.  
  
"Sam, I have just found something very interesting about our mutual friend," McKay said excitedly, as he closed the lab door behind him.  
  
Sam pulled herself out of her thoughts and went over to stand beside him.  
  
"What have you got? And did you do it legally?" She asked, eyebrows raised.  
  
"Good stuff, and yes it was legal," he grinned.  
  
"Well? Don't keep me in suspense!" Sam said.  
  
"Well, records from her previous army bases - and that's nine, including her brief stint at the pentagon…"  
  
"Whoa…are you telling me that she's been transferred nine times?"  
  
"I am, my sweet flower," he said, earning himself a smack on the head before continuing.  
  
"Call me that again and you'll live to regret it," she warned.  
  
"I like it when you talk evil to me," he leered. Sam glared at him.  
  
"Colonel Welling?" she asked, trying to divert his attention back to the subject in hand.  
  
"Yes…her first transfer was because of abuse to a minor officer - just small stuff, bitching, bullying, the stuff she does best. Anyway, this officer reported it and Debbie got booted straight out."  
  
"Wow," Sam said, genuinely surprised, "They dealt with that well."  
  
"Yeah," McKay agreed, "Unfortunately you won't find many army bases with the same attitude towards it. Her second transfer was for violence towards a fellow officer…"  
  
"Wait a minute," Sam said, "If all of this was in her file, why the hell did General Hammond let her on this base?"  
  
McKay shrugged.  
  
"Third, fourth and fifth transfers were all for bullying and abuse-related incidents, none resulting in her being demoted or even suspended."  
  
"I don't understand," Sam said quietly, "She's been making people's lives a misery for so long, and yet she's still managed to make Colonel. You've seen all the medals she has - valour, bravery…"  
  
"It's a twisted world," he quipped.  
  
"What about her last four transfers?"  
  
"Well, number six was another assault. And these have all been on minor officers. Numbers seven through nine were bullying again - that's why she got chucked out of the pentagon."  
  
"But, all of these charges against her," Sam said thoughtfully, running a hand back through her hair, "Nobody should be able to get away with it. The law shouldn't be allowing it! It's almost as if there's…"  
  
"Somebody who wants to keep her in the system," McKay finished.  
  
"Kinsey," Sam snarled. "Of all the two-faced, lying…"  
  
"Easy, tiger," McKay said, "I then decided to do some digging in her phone records. Lots of interesting stuff there, a lot of pizza deliveries, which would explain the truck-crushing thighs…"  
  
Sam snorted, and McKay enjoyed the sign of amusement on her face that he hadn't seen for a very long time.  
  
"But there was some other stuff that made me sit up. She's been making very frequent calls to the NID, at least one or two a week."  
  
"The NID are always trying to pull us off of the programme," she muttered, "What the hell have I done now?"  
  
"It doesn't end there," McKay said, "The NID calls she's been making are to two separate contacts. There's two different phone numbers."  
  
"Two? You mean there's two people trying to keep her in the system?"  
  
McKay nodded.  
  
"Well, it's enough to know that she's working for the NID," Sam said, beginning to get a little more excited. "Keep this under your hat, Slayer."  
  
"What did you call me?" He asked.  
  
"Nothing," she said innocently, "I didn't say anything."  
  
"I think perhaps you did," he said, moving closer to her, "And you know how much I hate that name."  
  
"Me? Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about. C'mon, McKay, get the hell off of me!"  
  
"Oh, my beautiful rose, why do you tease me so?"  
  
Sam looked incredulously at him.  
  
"My beautiful rose?" she asked. "You're losing your touch, Slayer."  
  
"Hey!" he said, "I told you not to call me that!"  
  
"What are you gonna do about it?" Sam smirked, enjoying winding him up.  
  
"You'd better start running, peg-leg," he warned.  
  
Three weeks later…  
  
"Major Carter, do you understand what you are being accused of here today?"  
  
"Yes, I do."  
  
"How do you plead on the charge of insubordination towards a superior officer?"  
  
"Not guilty."  
  
"Now, can you please explain to us what happened on the morning of your capture?"  
  
"We arrived on what appeared to be a safe planet. However, before we got very far we heard the sound of jaffa footsteps that were approaching. Colonel O'Neill sent Teal'c and Dr Jackson back to the gate and ordered Colonel Welling and myself to remain with him."  
  
"Did you question why he asked you to remain with him?"  
  
"He's my superior officer," she said dryly, "I'm not permitted to question him."  
  
"But, I understand that your once strong friendship was in ruin by this stage. Did you never wonder why he asked you to remain with him? After all, if your trust in each other was gone, why did he want you with him?"  
  
"Objection! How is Major Carter supposed to know what her CO is thinking?"  
  
"Please try to keep to the subject in hand," the judge advised.  
  
"Major Carter, what were relations like between yourself and Colonel Welling as you hid from the jaffa?"  
  
"Obviously we were all nervous. Colonel O'Neill asked a question, Colonel Welling believed that I answered him out of turn."  
  
"Did Colonel O'Neill address the question to you personally, Major Carter?"  
  
"No, but he didn't address it personally to Colonel Welling either."  
  
"Is it true that you then said to Colonel Welling: "Do you not think you could lay aside your intense hatred of me for just a second? There are slightly more important things going on here, Colonel."  
  
"Yes, it is," Sam nodded.  
  
"Do you think this is an appropriate way to address a superior officer?"  
  
"I was merely making a suggestion that she lay aside her personal emotion in order for us to focus more on the job in hand."  
  
"Which was?"  
  
"Not getting captured and subsequently killed." She shot back.  
  
"Is there not a more diplomatic way that you could have phrased this?"  
  
Sam sighed.  
  
"Probably, but to tell you the truth, when you're facing an army of jaffa and possibly a System Lord, diplomacy is the last thing on your mind."  
  
A snigger ran through the courtroom. The judge called for order.  
  
"Major Carter, there is no need for sarcasm. Please answer appropriately or we will be forced to remove you from the courtroom."  
  
"Is it true that you can sense the presence of a Goa'uld symbiote?"  
  
"Yes, usually I can."  
  
"But not on this occasion."  
  
"No. I only felt it when it was too late, and he was right on top of us."  
  
"Do you know why?"  
  
"Objection!"  
  
"Sustained. Sir, please stick to the subject in hand."  
  
"Now, Major Carter. You were trapped on Ba'al's ship in a small cell, is that correct?"  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
"And you and Colonel Welling ended up having an argument. Could you tell us what this was about?"  
  
"The argument was a result of my not sensing the presence of the symbiote. Colonel Welling believed that it was my fault that we had been captured, and saw no shame in pointing this out."  
  
"Yes, but you then told her to "go to hell." Is this correct, Major Carter?"  
  
Sam swallowed nervously.  
  
"Yes, it is correct."  
  
"This is not really an appropriate way to address a superior officer, is it?"  
  
"No, it is not." Sam admitted.  
  
"So you agree that she has good grounds for this accusation against you."  
  
"Objection!"  
  
"I will not tell you again!"  
  
"What happened after this, Major Carter?"  
  
"The jaffa came and took myself and Colonel Welling away," she said, stuffing her hands into the pocket of her coat to try and stop them from shaking. This was the part that she was not looking forwards to.  
  
"Took you where?" the lawyer asked.  
  
"The torture chamber," Sam answered grimly.  
  
"What happened to you in this chamber?" he continued.  
  
"Objection!"  
  
"Your honour, Major Carter may have revealed information of a sensitive nature to…"  
  
McKay fidgeted in his seat, resisting the urge to jump up and yell something at the prosecution lawyer.  
  
"Silence! Please continue, Major Carter."  
  
"He attempted to retrieve information from me."  
  
"What kind of information?"  
  
"Personal information. Ba'al is a master manipulator. Any information you give him about your personal life can be used against you."  
  
"In what way?"  
  
"Drug-induced hallucinations. They make you believe that you are talking to someone you love, telling them what they need to hear. The whole situation is so realistic that you shouldn't be able to tell the difference."  
  
"And did this happen to you, these hallucinations?"  
  
"No. He quickly got tired of my silence and decided to go for a more…direct approach."  
  
"And what would this be?"  
  
"A knife," she answered simply.  
  
"What happened to you, Major Carter?"  
  
"Ba'al has a special gravity chamber. He activated it, held the dagger up in the air, pointing at me, and let go of it."  
  
Jack clenched his fists tighter in the viewing area. Why she was being made to re-live this was beyond him. He glared at the back of Debbie's head, sitting just a few rows in front of him.  
  
"Did you lose consciousness?"  
  
"Not immediately, no. The dagger hit me in the hollow of my shoulder. This is enough to cause severe pain and bleeding, but not enough to kill in one shot. I passed out a few moments later."  
  
"Do you remember where you woke up?"  
  
(In Jack's arms)  
  
"I was back in the cell again. Colonel O'Neill was conscious, Colonel Welling was not."  
  
"What did you talk about?"  
  
"Nothing," Sam lied, "I wasn't very talkative, we didn't really know what to say to each other."  
  
"Please, Jack," Sam said softly, curling up in the corner again, "Just leave me alone. I've gotten used to it."  
  
"And then what happened?"  
  
"Colonel Welling was brought back to the cell after being tortured by Ba'al. She informed Colonel O'Neill and myself that she hadn't told him anything important. This, I later found out, was a lie."  
  
"How did you find this out, Major Carter?"  
  
"Colonel Welling had revealed to Ba'al personal information regarding my relationship with Colonel O'Neill."  
  
"What kind of information?"  
  
"That we weren't the friends we had used to be." She answered shortly.  
  
"What happened then?"  
  
"The hallucinations I told you about are introduced by a liquid. It has powerful properties that confuse the mind. He made me drink it. Then he threw another knife at me."  
  
"This liquid you spoke of, it confuses the mind?"  
  
"Yes, it does."  
  
"Then how can you be sure of anything that happened afterwards?"  
  
Sam swallowed again. Shit. Shit. Shit.  
  
"Let's move on a little further," the lawyer smiled, "Colonel O'Neill had been taken to the chamber. You and Colonel Welling were both conscious, is that correct?"  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
"Now, you two must have had things to talk about, surely."  
  
"Not really."  
  
"But this was the second time you addressed her in an insubordinate manner, is it not?"  
  
Sam smirked, and looked over at Debbie.  
  
"I'm going to die. We're all going to be tortured to death…or worse, by the most brutal system lord who has ever roamed the planet, and you know what really pisses me off?"  
  
Debbie looked angry.  
  
"I've got to die, with only YOU for company!"  
  
"I was a little short with her," Sam admitted.  
  
"I've got to die, with only YOU for company! That seems more than a little short, Major."  
  
"Being repeatedly stabbed and tortured can do that to you," she snapped.  
  
"I see. So you admit that you were insubordinate towards Colonel Welling?"  
  
"I…"  
  
"Answer the question, Major Carter!"  
  
"Yes, I suppose I was, but under the circumstances…"  
  
"Thank you. No further questions, your honour."  
  
Sam bashed her head against the cold wall of the courtroom. God damn it, she was screwed. The slimy prosecution lawyer had tricked her into admitting her guilt. Damn. Damn. Damn! She still had to face another round of questioning from the defence lawyer, which she hoped would be less incriminating.  
  
She grimaced as a spasm of pain shot up her leg and dug around in her pocket for some painkillers. Just as she swallowed one, she heard footsteps behind her.  
  
"Hey," he said quietly.  
  
She watched him suspiciously.  
  
"Yes?" She asked.  
  
"I'm sorry you had to go through that again," Jack said, "It's not something anybody should have to do."  
  
"Yeah, well," she said, leaning back against the wall.  
  
"You're…doing well," Jack offered, trying to be helpful.  
  
She laughed bitterly.  
  
"I am screwed," she said slowly, and deliberately. "That lawyer just got me to admit that I have been insubordinate towards Debbie and then cut me off as I was trying to explain myself. She's got a lot of friends in high places, Colonel. I'm not going to come out of this courtroom victorious, and she knows it. She's just prolonging the agony."  
  
"You don't know that!" Jack protested.  
  
"Yes, Colonel, I do know that. What about you, hmm? Your name hasn't been mentioned in vain, not once! What was that crap you were telling me about losing your job?"  
  
"Yeah, well when Debbie takes the stand, you'll know what I'm talking about," he said, and walked away.  
  
As she left the courtroom several hours later, Sam felt physically and mentally drained. Having to recount her capture by Ba'al again was not something she had relished doing. To make matters worse, it was Debbie's turn tomorrow…and her little runt of a lawyer.  
  
She left the courtroom through the back of the building. She knew that the others meant well, but she couldn't face them this evening. Standing accused of insubordination by an officer who had a serious problem with her, and contacts in all the right places, she wasn't in the mood for petty reassurances.  
  
Once outside, she took a deep breath of the evening air and leant back against the side wall. She was so tired. Of everything - the case, Debbie, Jack, the job. Still, she thought grimly, the last one probably wouldn't be bothering her for much longer.  
  
McKay watched her. He had decided not to follow her, knowing that she needed some time alone. He could see she was scared and nervous. All he wanted to do was go up and put his arms around her…but he was the last person she would want comfort from. He looked forwards to the events of the next day. Despite his concern for Sam, a smile played around the corners of his mouth. Oh yes, Colonel Welling was in for a rather large shock…  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author Note: Sorry this took so long, I've been away for a while. Please send feedback to We're coming close to the end now…keep your ideas about Debbie's fate coming! 


	7. Circle's Arc

Title: Circle's Arc  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback:  
  
Spoilers: Abyss  
  
Series Order: (1) Full Circle, (2) Circles of the Mind, (3) Splitting the Circle, (4) Empty Circles, (5) Circle of Lies, (6) Circles Revealed  
  
Summary: Sam and Jack have a much needed talk and Debbie's luck finally runs out.

Dedication: For Sarah, taken from us too early. Your smile and friendship are sorely missed.  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other UST, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season. MCKAY WARNING: Yep, he's nice in this one too, so if you don't like him, don't read this.  
  
Author Notes: 7th in the 'Circles' Series. Please send feedback to  
  
Archive: Gateworld,  
  
-------- indicates flashbacks  
  
Circle's Arc  
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
"Colonel Welling, what happened after you first arrived at the cell on Ba'al's ship?"  
  
"I was scared, I admit it," she said, adding a sniff for good measure, "I have very little field experience with the Goa'uld, and certainly no preparation for capture. Major Carter's behaviour didn't help me in the least."  
  
"What behaviour was this, Colonel?"  
  
"Well, she was very short with me, and seemed to think that we had no hope of survival. In fact, at one point she said, and I quote, that she wasn't so bothered about dying a million miles from home, it was the fact that she had to do it with me."  
  
Sam flushed scarlet and avoided the dirty look she was sure that Hammond was throwing at her. McKay wanted to smirk but decided not to risk it in the middle of the crowded courtroom. Jack was torn between annoyance that she would say something like that, knowing that she could get into serious trouble for it, and pride, because it sounded like one of his O'Neill-isms.  
  
"This cannot have helped your situation," Debbie's lawyer agreed.  
  
"No. Even though she is a junior officer, I felt undermined."  
  
"And what happened when you were taken by Ba'al?"  
  
"He…oh, the pain was so bad…it's like nothing I've ever felt before…" Debbie faltered.  
  
McKay made a rude sound, and Sam smarted.  
  
"No, well my getting repeatedly killed wasn't a cakewalk either," she snapped under her breath.  
  
"And what happened after this? Do you remember? I understand this must be difficult for you to come to terms with."  
  
Debbie nodded quietly and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.  
  
Sam gritted her teeth, her hands clenching into fists. She was playing the sympathy card - and she was getting a little too much of it for her liking.  
  
"I woke up in the cell - Colonel O'Neill was there to comfort me. If he hadn't been there…" her voice trailed off. This time is was Jack who flushed, and didn't meet Sam's eyes.  
  
"Where was Major Carter?"  
  
"She was with Ba'al. When she came back she was very stand-offish. Apparently he'd made her drink something that was making her hallucinate. She just sort of sat in the corner and yelled at us."  
  
I never yelled at you, Sam thought angrily, I didn't have the fucking energy!  
  
When the court broke for lunch, Sam went straight to her lawyer. She was nervous about the way Debbie was choosing to portray herself to the court and jury. Sam, being a seasoned soldier and frankly old hand at being tortured, had recounted the events with dignity and formality. Debbie, on the other hand, was emotional, and it was emotions that they were picking up on. Sam wondered if she had done the right thing by detaching herself from it.  
  
"Don't jazz it up," she said, "What chance do I have now?"  
  
"Well, from this point of view - not much," the lawyer admitted, "But we do have some new information against her. Something that she won't be expecting."  
  
Sam brightened momentarily.  
  
"The thing about her being transferred 10 times for bullying?"  
  
"There's that," the lawyer said, with a smile, "But there's also something else."  
  
"Colonel Welling, could you explain to me the nature of your relationship with Colonel O'Neill?"  
  
"Well, I was assigned to work with his team when I arrived at the SGC, and later became his 2IC when Major Carter left to become a part of the scientific team."  
  
"And this is as far as you would say your relationship goes?"  
  
Sam frowned. So that was what her lawyer had been talking about. She cast a sideways look at McKay, who looked innocently up at the ceiling.  
  
"Yes," Debbie answered confidently.  
  
"Your honour, I would like to present to you a list of over 50 base personnel who are prepared to state in court, under oath, that Colonels Welling and O'Neill were romantically involved."  
  
"Objection!" Debbie's lawyer bellowed, but the judge waved him away.  
  
"Let me see it," he said, extending a bony hand.  
  
He took the paper and glanced at it quickly, his frown deepening. Sam's lawyer sat back down and offered her a reassuring smile.  
  
"This certainly does complicate proceedings, Miss Welling," the judge said, "Fraternisation between two officers in the same command is also an offence for which you could be court-martialled, is it not?"  
  
Debbie didn't answer immediately, just sat there looking shocked. Her eye fell on Dr McKay in the front row, and anger rose like a fire within her. The little bastard. Why was he doing this for her? The two of them didn't have a chance.  
  
The judge carried on.  
  
"You may continue, but this evidence has brought to light some issues that were previously unexpected. I would not get too comfortable in your current position."  
  
Debbie squirmed a little in her seat. Sam almost smiled - she had never seen her do that before. McKay, meanwhile, wished that he had brought a video camera with him.  
  
"Colonel Welling, how would you describe your behaviour towards Major Carter?"  
  
"I have always been perfectly civil towards her," Debbie said coolly, "It was her behaviour towards me that I found difficult to understand. She.."  
  
"We are well aware of your opinion, Colonel Welling, but is it or is it not true that you accosted Major Carter in the locker room before the first mission you spent together and behaved in an insulting manner?"  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about," Debbie lied.  
  
"Face it, hon, you've never been anything more than the annoying scientist who talks too much and gets into trouble too often. You've never been anything more than that whore who tried to seduce him in this very locker room in the first month that you knew each other. You're nothing." The lawyer read, in a perfect monotone.  
  
"Did you know that? She and Colonel O'Neill were involved long before I came on the scene!"  
  
"Silence!" The judge said irritably, "Colonel Welling, we have mission reports validated by the president himself that concluded that the incident you are referring to was induced by an alien virus, and neither Major Carter nor Colonel O'Neill were acting under their own influences at the time. Therefore this evidence cannot be counted against them."  
  
Sam's lawyer gave Debbie a moment to digest this information before continuing.  
  
"Colonel Welling, you continued to berate Major Carter with abuse right up to the point where you were captured and interrogated. You then gave information about her to a system lord. Could you please tell us what you said to him?"  
  
"I don't remember," Debbie snapped.  
  
"Try harder," Sam's lawyer shot back, with a glare. Debbie sighed theatrically.  
  
"I don't like her, but it's Jack she annoys more than anybody. Yeah, she sort of liked him more than he liked her. He got tired of it in the end. They had an argument, she ran off crying what a surprise."  
  
"You were aware that you were not supposed to pass any information to the Goa'uld?"  
  
"Yes, I was, but I did not consider this to be information."  
  
"You were perfectly happy to endanger the life of a fellow officer, why? Because you didn't like her."  
  
"No. I don't like her."  
  
"Colonel, is it true that you have been transferred around army bases 10 times for bullying related incidents?"  
  
"Objection!"  
  
"Overruled. Answer the question, Miss Welling."  
  
Debbie gritted her teeth.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Colonel Welling, when you were in the cell, Colonel O'Neill was badly injured. Is it true that you then tried to place the blame for all of the past events on Major Carter herself?"  
  
"I believed she was at fault," Debbie answered carefully.  
  
"Are you even listening to me?" Debbie yelled. "This - is - your - fault!"  
  
"There is, Colonel, a fine line between finding someone at fault, and finding someone guilty. Exactly why did you believe Major Carter was to blame?"  
  
"She should have sensed the presence of the Goa'uld, and we would never have been captured. She behaved inappropriately towards me."  
  
"And this is all you have to go on?" The lawyer asked, in a slightly mocking tone.  
  
Debbie smiled nastily.  
  
"That may be so, but your dear client didn't take much persuading."  
  
Sam flushed and bit her lip. Jack clenched his fists in anger.  
  
"In a moment the jury will return to deliver their verdict," the judge said, "But I have some advice for both defendants. Major Carter, though your situation was understandable and highly unfortunate, I ask you to consider more carefully the words you will use to address a commanding officer in the future. Colonel Welling, your past history with the military is frankly a disgrace. I believe that you need professional help before you consider returning to work. You, like Major Carter, need to consider the manner in which you address your junior officers."  
  
The jury returned, and sat back down in their seats terrifically slowly. Sam's heart was beating faster and she felt very hot. Debbie was also looking nervous.  
  
"Have the jury reached a decision?"  
  
"Yes, your honour."  
  
"How do you find the defendant, Major Carter, on charge of insubordination towards a senior officer?"  
  
"Not guilty."  
  
Sam was so relieved that she nearly passed out on the spot. A cheer went up from the courtroom, and she heard voices congratulating her, hands slapping her on the back - but she phased them out, like background noise.  
  
She'd been careful to detach herself from the incident with Ba'al. Keeping it a separate part of her, like a limb she didn't need. She hadn't allowed herself any time to dwell on it, on what did happen, on what could have happened…  
  
She was alright. She was free. Debbie's plan to bang her up had failed miserably. Although she was flushed with the success of her victory, she just felt unbelievably tired. Slowly, almost robotically, she moved out of the courtroom and made her way towards her car.  
  
"Hey," McKay said, his hand on her arm, "Are you okay, Sam?"  
  
She nodded, and managed a smile.  
  
"I just want to go home."  
  
"Sure," he said, "I'll drive you - and don't even think about arguing with me."  
  
"Senator Kinsey?"  
  
"Colonel Welling, is this a secure line?"  
  
"Yes, sir, I believe so. I need to meet with you, as a matter of much urgency."  
  
"The trial failed, Colonel," Kinsey snarled, "Major Carter still has her job and yours is pretty much screwed!"  
  
"I know!" Debbie shot back, "But I have one last favour to ask of you. It's the least you can do!"  
  
"The usual place," Kinsey snapped, "An hour."  
  
Jack pulled up outside Sam's house, a feeling of nervousness in his gut that he couldn't remember feeling for a long time. He noted, with considerable relief, that McKay's car was absent from the street, because he wasn't one of the man's greatest friends at that moment. Come to think of it, he never would be, and he was actually glad.  
  
Getting out of the car before his courage deserted him, he walked up to her front door and knocked on it. His hands twisted together behind his back, and he felt like a teenager on a first date.  
  
Except for the fact that Sam didn't want to see him, and he had some serious forgiveness to go begging for. He wasn't expecting to come out with anything more than a slap.  
  
She opened the door, and a fresh wave of guilt flooded him. She didn't look as though she had just won a court case. On the contrary, she looked as if she had just received a life sentence. Then, remembering how his own life had been changed by Ba'al, he realised that she probably had.  
  
"Hey," he said softly, "Look, I know you don't want to see me right now, and I've behaved like a complete asshole, and I don't even deserve to be let in, but…"  
  
"Jeez, O'Neill, you're just giving me all of the reasons to shut the door in your face," Sam said, dryly.  
  
Jack looked down, waiting for the slap to connect with his face. Three…two…one…  
  
When it didn't come, he looked up at her again. She was frowning at him, and the door was open wide enough for him to pass through.  
  
"You coming in, or what?"  
  
Thanking every god he knew the name of, he stepped past her and into the house, relieved to be in the warm. Not that it was overly cold outside, but he could definitely feel one of his hands shaking…  
  
She hobbled past him and went into the kitchen. He noted with wry amusement the crutch that lay abandoned against the stairs. Janet would have blown a fuse if she'd turned up to find Sam so blatantly ignoring it. He looked up, and she saw what he had been focussed on.  
  
"I'm not an invalid," she snapped, "I don't need it."  
  
"I never said you did," he replied, following her into the kitchen.  
  
"Can I get you a drink?" She asked, trying to keep busy, her back towards him. "I've got beer, coffee, hot chocolate…"  
  
He reached out his arm and touched her on the shoulder, only to feel her flinch painfully beneath it.  
  
"Don't…touch me. Please," she said, without turning around. She didn't want him to see the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She knew how much he hated it when she did that, after all.  
  
"Sam…" he said carefully, "I'm sorry. I don't need a drink…I need to talk to you. You need to relax, and sit down on that couch. Rest that leg of yours."  
  
"You can't tell me what to do, Colonel," She sniffed angrily, trying to maintain some of her dignity.  
  
"No, maybe I can't, but if I call Janet then she will, and believe me when I say she won't appreciate your not using your crutch."  
  
Sam's eyes widened as she turned around to face him, her arms folded.  
  
"Are you threatening me?" She demanded.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I am," he admitted, beckoning for her to go and sit down. Hell, he would have dragged her there himself, but he would probably end up being assaulted.  
  
She walked into the lounge and sat down on the couch, watching him warily as he took the other end. The space between them was large and cold. Jack wished desperately that he could close it, feel her warmth against him, hold him close to her.  
  
"I…" He looked at his hands, "This is going to take me a while," he stammered, "Ya see, I had it all worked out, what I was going to say, and I wrote it down on this bit of paper but then Danny threw it away because I left it on my floor and he thought it was trash…"  
  
Sam looked over at him. She was surprised more than anything. Jack was, by all accounts, babbling. He only ever babbled when he was nervous. If he was nervous, it meant he was gearing himself up to say something deep and emotional. Whilst part of her was scared, the other part knew how hard he sometimes found it to express himself this way, too used to locking everything away. Her gaze softened a little, and she carefully moved her bruised and tired body around a little more to face him, making her position less aggressive.  
  
Jack, however, didn't notice. He was still babbling.  
  
"And then I tried writing it down again, but it seemed all wrong, so I had to try and re-do it…"  
  
He looked up at her. This time it was his turn to be surprised. The cold stare that had been emanating from those blue eyes a moment ago was gone, and was replaced by a softer one. Her posture was more relaxed, and whilst she was still holding back from him, it wasn't to such a degree. She was waiting, patiently, for him to get on with it.  
  
"I'm sorry," he blurted out suddenly, all plans of a build-up and reminiscing out of the window. "Okay, I'm… so sorry, Sam. I don't know what else to say.  
  
These past couple of years have been so weird. One minute we were fine, better than fine…and the next minute, Debbie turned up. Hell, I was so stupid I never even realised how much she was changing things. I didn't realise how easy it was for her to turn me against you. I never realised how much I was hurting you…until you played that tape back to me.  
  
That was like the biggest slap in the face I've ever had. I suddenly realised what had been happening, what Debbie….what WE had put you through. The way Daniel and Teal'c looked at me, the way…the way you just sort of crumpled, in front of my eyes. I'll never forget it. I felt so ashamed."  
  
He looked up, nervously. Her expression hadn't changed, but she wouldn't quite meet his eyes. Still, she hadn't shouted at him, so he assumed he was allowed to continue.  
  
"Then you…decided to leave SG-1. I don't blame you, Sam, I would have done the same. I admit it, I stayed angry for a very long time. Too long, and at all the wrong people. When Hammond told me he wanted you to accompany me on another mission, I was so confused, so messed up!  
  
I know how pathetic this sounds, but you know me, and I'm not usually an over-emotional man. When I remembered that night, after the tape, they just flooded me! Guilt, fear, anger, hate…" "And anger was just the easiest one for you to deal with?" She finished softly.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, it was, and it was such a stupid dumbass thing to do. Blaming you for getting us captured…it wasn't your fault. It couldn't have been your fault! You…do know that, don't you?"  
  
She shrugged, absently, and it nearly broke his heart. She couldn't still be blaming herself for all this? Not now? The court had cleared her, but still she was beating herself up.  
  
"Then, when you came back after…. Ba'al took you for the first time, and I saw the knife marks on your clothes…"  
  
She had looked away from him again. He didn't need to wonder what might be going through her mind - he knew. He knew because he had experienced it himself and, whether she liked it or not, he knew her.  
  
"All my memories of what happened to me before just came flooding back. The pain I felt, but more than that, the fear. And I looked down at you, and it just came to me. You were going through the same, and worse! At least when I came round, I had Daniel, I had you. But you…I wasn't being any help, and Debbie… That was when it really, really hit me.  
  
I had to do something about it. Our relationship - or what was left of it. It hurt me so much to know that you had been there for me, but I hadn't been there for you. It's so selfish, I mean - you must have been feeling much worse, but I just wanted to hold you, more than anything else. I promised myself that I'd sort things out, that I'd try to make everything okay. Unfortunately, I got the snot beaten out of me by Ba'al again, so that was put on hold for a while."  
  
"And that's what you're here to do?" Sam asked, edgily, "To make everything okay again?"  
  
"I'm not asking you to suddenly be my best friend again," Jack said, "I know I don't deserve it, and I don't expect you to even consider it, not now. But this…terrible thing has happened to us, and believe me when I say you don't want to face the healing process alone. I've been there. I went into complete denial, I tried to act normally, but it just doesn't work."  
  
She sniffed, and turned away from him again. He could see her trembling slightly. His hands burned with the need to touch her, to reach out and pull her towards him.  
  
"I know," she murmured, "I just…I just detached myself from it. I pretended that it didn't happen, not to me. It was just somebody else's messed up life that I was in the middle of. But it wasn't," she finished, brokenly, "It was mine."  
  
This time, a tear did fall from her cheek. Jack's chest began to ache. He fought back the urge to hold her, because he didn't deserve it. He was still half-expecting her to kick him out.  
  
Then, he reached across the gap between them, literally and figuratively. His hand found hers, and covered it. He laced his fingers through hers and just held them there for a moment, quietly. Not demanding, not speaking. Just being.  
  
Slowly, she raised her head and looked at him. Soft brown eyes met her watery blue ones, and for the first time in as long as she could remember she felt calm. Safe. She looked down at his hand, holding hers gently, as if it were made of glass. She squeezed it, and offered him a small smile.  
  
"Thank you," she sniffed, "I…it means a lot to me…that you worked all that out before coming here…even if Danny did throw it away…"  
  
He laughed nervously, and she sniffed again, but their hands didn't part.  
  
"These scars," he said softly, "They're gonna take a long time to heal. They're never completely going to go away, but they don't have to rule you. Make you into someone you're not.  
  
It's partly my fault that they're there, and I just…someday, I would like the chance to help make them disappear. I still…and this was something I never would have admitted before now…but I still have feelings for you too, Sam."  
  
They looked at each other again for a long moment. That gap between them was still there, but their hands were still joined. Slowly, so as not to alarm her, he carefully moved closer to the middle of the couch. Not crowding her, just moving a little closer.  
  
She swallowed nervously. Jack's words had hit her with more force than she had expected. Hell, she didn't think he had it in him! But everything he'd said, it was so true, so honest. He didn't want to rush her into anything, but he was asking for her forgiveness.  
  
She didn't know whether she was willing to give him that yet. The events of the past two years were too fresh, the wounds too raw. But someday…maybe.  
  
She also moved closer to the middle of the couch, so their shoulders were almost touching. Then, slowly, she lowered her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes.  
  
The relief that flowed through him with this movement was like a tidal wave. He turned his head more towards hers, shifting carefully so as not to jar her wounded shoulder. His thumb brushed gently across the back of her hand.  
  
"Thank you," he said, tenderly.  
  
"One favour, eh?" Kinsey asked, shooting a glare at the woman opposite him, "Quite frankly, Colonel, I'm not sure it's owed you."  
  
"I came so close!" Debbie hissed, "If they hadn't found out about…"  
  
"But they did!" Kinsey interrupted, "We could have put Major Carter behind bars! You could have loved up with O'Neill, got him to retire! SG-1 would have been disbanded, but no! Even a simple task was beyond you."  
  
"Simple?" Debbie roared, "I have been through so much! I have lost everything! I've been tortured, for Christ's sake! You wouldn't be so damned cocky if you'd been on the wrong end of a ribbon device!"  
  
"What do you want?" Kinsey snarled.  
  
"You have a contact in the NID, right? Who used to work with Colonel Maybourne?"  
  
Kinsey tapped his foot impatiently.  
  
"Get me off world," she said simply, "Get me through that gate, and I promise, you will never see me again."  
  
"You'll be at the SGC tomorrow?" Kinsey asked. She nodded.  
  
"There will be an incident, a distraction," Kinsey explained. "You'll receive a phone call tomorrow with more information."  
  
"Thank you," Debbie said.  
  
"Don't thank me…not until you're safely off the face of this planet," Kinsey said, and stalked away.  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Author's Note: Next chapter will be the last : ( Hope you enjoyed this one, please send me your feedback to  
  
Next time: Will Debbie escape?


	8. Circle's End

Title: Circle's End  
  
Rating: R (Violence)  
  
Feedback:  
  
Spoilers: 48 Hours, The First Commandment  
  
Series Order: (1) Full Circle, (2) Circles of the Mind, (3) Splitting the Circle, (4) Empty Circles, (5) Circle of Lies, (6) Circles Revealed, (7) Circle's Arc  
  
Summary: Sam and McKay consider their relationship, and as Debbie puts her escape plan into action, someone gets hurt - will she make it off world?  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Details: Jack/Other, Sam/Other Romance, Sam/Jack UST, Angst, Drama, Future Season.  
  
MCKAY WARNING: If you don't like him, you really really really won't like this chapter. I mean, seriously! P.S. 'Heroes' never happened in my universe.  
  
Author Notes: 8th in the 'Circles' Series. Please send feedback to  
  
Archive: Gateworld,  
  
-------- indicates flashbacks  
  
Circle's End  
  
Copyright © Ruth, 2004  
  
Dedication: For you, sweet Sarah, missing you more each day.  
  
"Colonel, you have been briefed of tomorrow's incident?"  
  
"Yes, senator."  
  
"Exactly why are you going off world?" Kinsey asked, confused, "There are plenty of places in the United States that we could hide you in."  
  
"I still want to be a part of the programme," she explained, "If I go through the gate and take a GDO, I can go to a Beta site or even just a distant planet and mingle with the locals for a few years. Then, when everything's calmed down, I could try and get my job back."  
  
Kinsey snorted.  
  
"You'll be waiting a long time for that, Colonel. The only reason you got to SGC was because of me and our mutual friend in the NID."  
  
"Kinsey, don't flatter yourself. Your job required the intelligence of a biscuit."  
  
"1200 hours," Kinsey snapped, "Be in the gate room or as close to it as possible - I'd hate for them to close the blast doors on you and halt your escape."  
  
"Goodbye, Senator," Debbie said curtly, and put down the telephone.  
  
"So, what? You just absolved him of sin and let him become your best friend again?" McKay asked in disbelief, "Have the last two years made no impression on you?"  
  
"I have not absolved him of sin and no, he is not my best friend!" Sam replied, "I just felt the need to clear the air."  
  
"He treated you like crap!" McKay said, "He doesn't deserve it!"  
  
"That may be so," Sam continued, "But if we have to work together it helps to be able to speak!"  
  
"You don't work with him," McKay said angrily, "You work with me!"  
  
"I know!" Sam said, "But on the occasion that I meet him around the base I don't want to be having to ignore him. McKay, he's…he's been through it. He just wants to help."  
  
"I want to help!" McKay cried, "Dammit, Sam, I want to help you, but you won't let me in! You trust that man more than you trust me, even though he put you through hell!"  
  
Sam sat down heavily. She had no idea that it meant so much to him.  
  
"McKay…" She began.  
  
"Just stop," he said quietly, "I understand. I was there when you needed help but you don't need it any more. I'll see if I can get a flight back to Russia."  
  
"I didn't say that!" Sam shouted, her temper flaring, "Dammit, McKay, stop feeling so sorry for yourself! I don't want you to go back to Russia, I want you to stay here!"  
  
His arms folded across his chest as he stood by the door, waiting. Her voice softened.  
  
"Yes, you were there for me when I needed help, and yes, I am trying to build bridges with the colonel - but that doesn't mean that I don't need you any more. You think I am just going to forget what has happened? Just like that? Well I won't. I still need you around."  
  
McKay's head lowered and he looked at the floor. Was that a flush of embarrassment in his face? She'd have to remember that for blackmailing purposes later.  
  
"My leg is still busted," she explained, "So you have to do all the running around. And although you are sometimes a total pain in the rear, I enjoy working with you. You're an intelligent man, and when people get to know you, they realise that you're not quite such an asshole as they think."  
  
"Why, thank you," he said sarcastically.  
  
"No problem," Sam replied, "C'mere."  
  
They shared a brief hug, though McKay privately wished that it could have been longer.  
  
"Sorry I went all teenage-girl on you there," he apologised.  
  
"It's alright," Sam smiled, "I think I'm growing used to your mood swings."  
  
"Hey!" He protested, "I so do NOT have mood swings!"  
  
"Sure you do," Sam smirked, "That was one hell of a swing a minute ago."  
  
"Listen," he said seriously, sitting down in a chair opposite her, "I know I'm a pain in the butt sometimes, but…"  
  
Sam arched an eyebrow at him. He found this slightly creepy; she'd obviously been taking lessons from Teal'c.  
  
"Would you like to go out somewhere this evening? I don't know, dinner or a drink or something?"  
  
Was McKay asking her on a date?? He was looking embarrassed again, and it was so cruel to keep him waiting but Sam couldn't think straight. She had hated him, he still behaved like an asshole, but…she could do with a night out.  
  
"Sure," she said, "If you don't mind hanging out with a cripple," she waved her crutch at him.  
  
"We'll just go somewhere where nobody will recognise us," he reassured her.  
  
"How about some coffee?" Sam asked, "I'd get it myself, but.."  
  
"Sure," McKay said, getting up, "But just one thing. Tonight? Wear something little and black."  
  
And then, before she could find anything to throw at him, he was gone.  
  
Debbie raised her hand and knocked sharply on the door. A familiar voice called her inside, one that she was very sad to have to leave behind.  
  
"Oh. It's you," Jack replied, "What do you want?"  
  
"Can't I just come and talk to my favourite Colonel?" She smiled.  
  
"No," he snapped, "We're both under investigation at the moment, we shouldn't be seen together. You know how people talk."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Debbie said airily, "They won't charge us with anything. We're safe."  
  
Jack's eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
  
"What have you done?"  
  
"I haven't done anything!" Debbie said, defensively, "I just don't think they can persecute us for something we haven't done!"  
  
"What exactly haven't we done?" Jack snapped, "For crying out loud, Colonel Welling, you were my 2IC and we had a relationship. I've known the rules on that for ages!"  
  
"We didn't do anything wrong," she pouted, "We were just two people in love."  
  
"It wasn't love," Jack said, "Now get out of my office."  
  
"Don't you want to hear what I have to tell you?" She asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, no! I don't!" Jack replied angrily, gathering up his folders and storming out of the room.  
  
Debbie sighed, and took a look at her fingernails. Too bad she'd had them done recently - it wasn't as if she would be able to find any beauty parlours off world.  
  
Still, he'd made his position perfectly clear. She had been willing, oh so willing, to take him with her. They could have shared the plan together, escaped off world and started a whole new life - but no. She had to stop him.  
  
Her mouth set in a grim line. Oh, she had tried to get rid of her. Teasing, bullying even - that had nearly seen her off. Then General Hammond had assigned her to another mission, so she'd had another go. Still, she remained, stuck to Jack like a limpet.  
  
"Stupid scientist," she muttered to herself.  
  
When she and Jack were rescued from Ba'al, she finally thought she'd done it. No more Sam Carter. Jack would forget about her and the two of them could finally start a life together. But no, she just wouldn't let go. Clinging onto a last shred of life she'd fought her way back, limping into the court only to beat her yet again.  
  
Well, she decided, it wasn't going to happen again. By the time Debbie was off world, Samantha Carter would be a distant memory.  
  
"Janet Fraiser."  
  
"Hey, Janet!"  
  
"Sam! What is this? You're actually at home? Listening to my advice? I think I should come over and give you a check-up!"  
  
"Actually Jan I do need you to come over, but not for a check-up."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing! I'm just…well, I may be going out tonight and I…"  
  
"You have a date?" Janet smirked, twisting the phone cord between her fingers.  
  
"Well, it's not exactly a date," Sam mumbled, annoyed at the pleasure she knew Janet would be deriving from this.  
  
"Well? Who is it?"  
  
"I don't want to tell you over the phone," Sam said, still quite flustered, "Can you come over?"  
  
"Sure, Sam, but…Oh My God. You're not? With him? Are you serious?"  
  
"I'll see you later," Sam said, and hurriedly put down the phone.  
  
"Mom? Yeah, I…yes, of course I clean my teeth every morning. What?…Yes, mom, I…dammit, I'm trying to talk to you for a moment!"  
  
(Loud blathering on other end of the line)  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I won't use that word again. No…no, mom, they didn't teach me to speak that way in Russia. No…what? Look, I have something important to tell you."  
  
(Slightly quieter blathering on other end of the line)  
  
"I have a date."  
  
(Silence)  
  
"Mom? I need some advice, that's all. Yes, she is an American. What? What do you mean? No, I'm not…Oh, jeez, could you just put dad on?"  
  
(Quiet grumbling)  
  
"Dad! Hey, dad. Yeah…what? No, look, I really don't need one of those lectures right now! Really! Ok, hey…listen to me? Somebody? Dad, I haven't done this for years! I mean, what should I wear?…Oh very funny. Right, be that way. Putting the phone down now. Bye!"  
  
"Agh!" McKay groaned in exasperation, putting his head in his hands. Now he remembered why he didn't ring his parents very often.  
  
He went upstairs and opened his wardrobe. Hm…This was going to need some work. He had shirts for work, trousers for work, ties for work…but nothing, it seemed, for his social life.  
  
"Crap," he moaned.  
  
Later that evening, Sam arrived at the restaurant. She stopped her car and sat still for a moment. This was not the first time in the past few hours that she had wondered what the hell she was doing. This was McKay, after all.  
  
Who was she kidding? She'd almost died last month, hell, worse than that. She only had one chance at life, she sombrely reminded herself, and she had better make the most of it. With that decision made, she opened the door and struggled out of the car.  
  
McKay, she knew, would be fairly disappointed in her attire. Short and black wasn't really on her list at the moment, as it didn't go particularly well with a busted leg and numerous scars and bruises. A brief smile passed over her face as she wondered what he would be wearing. At work, all she'd ever seen was scruffy, brown and cream pants and shirts that made him look as if he had wandered off of the streets.  
  
As she wandered into the restaurant, she couldn't help but smile. McKay was sitting there, in a suit that must have been a size too big for him, with a bow tie that was on a skew and a very nervous expression. He caught her gaze, realised she was smirking, and immediately assumed his sarcastic best.  
  
"Jake the peg, nice of you to turn up," he grinned, bowing slightly as he offered her a chair.  
  
"It's quite handy for hitting people over the head with, so cut the crap, McKay," she said, in a low voice so as not to offend the other people in the restaurant.  
  
"I like it when you get mad," he said.  
  
She swatted him with a menu.  
  
"You know…" he said, "I actually was quite nervous about doing this."  
  
Sam looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"You? I didn't think you had an emotional program!"  
  
"I was being serious," he shot back, "Do you think it was easy, someone like me asking someone like you out to dinner?"  
  
"I…guess I hadn't really thought about it," Sam admitted, "What do you mean, someone like me? I'm not the queen!"  
  
"No, but, I wouldn't mind betting that you were popular at school, you know? Prom queen, cheerleader, and all that?" He said, fumbling with a napkin.  
  
He expected a smile, some reminiscing, but not the laugh that erupted from her, startling an elderly couple behind them.  
  
"Prom queen?" She giggled, holding her side as she tried to calm down, "Are you nuts, McKay? I was a geek! I spent my time getting shoved into lockers by cheerleaders, not hanging around with them!"  
  
"Really?" He asked, "I thought it was just me!"  
  
"Oh, no, I saw many the inside of a locker," Sam said thoughtfully, "What I wouldn't give to see what some of them have done with their lives now."  
  
"Not as much as you have," McKay said seriously, "In fact, I don't think there's many people in this world who can claim to have done as much with their lives as you."  
  
Sam flushed slightly at the compliment. "You haven't done so bad yourself, McKay. After all, you are the world's foremost expert on the Stargate!"  
  
He grinned a little.  
  
"God, I was a pompous ass, wasn't I?"  
  
"What's with the past tense?" She retorted.  
  
"Hey!" He protested, "I think I've been improving in my behaviour lately."  
  
Sam shook her head.  
  
"Stop trying, McKay. I've just managed to get used to the way you are, don't go and change and make me have to go through it again."  
  
At that point their food arrived, so the trade in insults stopped for a while.  
  
At home, Debbie put the last of her things into her kit bag, and reached for a rectangular box to her left. She opened it, and took out the handgun that was nestled within it. Checking that it was loaded, she set it back down again, a pleased smile spreading over her face in the darkness of the room.  
  
Everything was prepared for her grand finale. And it wasn't just she that would be departing tomorrow.  
  
"I never really thanked you, McKay." Sam said, as the waiter cleared away their plates.  
  
"Oh, did I mention you're paying?" He grinned.  
  
"I meant about what happened on Ba'al's ship. I really do appreciate what you did. It could have ended very differently…"  
  
He felt bad when he saw a familiar shadow pass over her face, and reached across the table to lay his hand on hers.  
  
"But it didn't," he finished, "C'mon, I didn't bring you out this evening to make you sad! We're supposed to be having fun, though I know my presence here somewhat limits that, and the fact that you didn't wear something small, black and sexy…"  
  
Her face broke into a smile.  
  
"Well, you might want to try finding a wardrobe that covers the multiple array of bruises I currently own," Sam said, "As well as some shoes that can be worn whilst I have to use this." She indicated the crutch that was leant against the table.  
  
"Fair point," he said, "But how are we supposed to run out of the restaurant without paying?"  
  
"I'm sorry," she apologised, "Of all the things I thought you'd plan, I didn't foresee that."  
  
Later, the two of them were walking along the edge of a river that ran parallel to the freeway. Night had fallen by that point, and Sam couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. It was only at night, and in the darkness, when the worst memories came back to her. She shivered.  
  
"Hey," McKay said gently, "Are you cold?"  
  
"Hmm," she said, "I just…well, the dark. It…brings everything back."  
  
"Oh, Sam, sorry, I didn't think…" McKay said, kicking himself.  
  
"It's not your fault," she reassured him, "You can't prepare for everything, can you?"  
  
He slipped out of his jacket and put it over her shoulders, receiving a smile for his troubles.  
  
"Well," he grumbled, "It fits you better than it does me!"  
  
She chuckled as she looked out over the river, momentarily transfixed by its smoothness, the way it moved so calmly and quietly.  
  
"Careful, McKay, you're starting to look like a gentleman," she warned.  
  
She would have liked to pretend otherwise, but she was quite enjoying the feel of his hand on hers. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that kind of warmth, especially towards another person…a man. There was still a small part of her brain that was trying to get her to turn away, but she pushed it aside.  
  
"You're beautiful tonight," he said suddenly.  
  
"As opposed to the rest of the time?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"No, it's just that normally I can't say those kind of things…at work, I mean."  
  
"It's nobody else's business," she said, turning to face him, "Our lives are our own, and we can do with them whatever the hell we like."  
  
"It's really changed your outlook on life, hasn't it?" He asked.  
  
Sam nodded. "It just made me realise how I worry about all the little, stupid things. Nothing that really matters. Just the little things that annoyed me in everyday life. The things that nobody can do anything about, but everybody complains about anyway. I've spent too many years of my life taking it for granted. I'm not going to do that any more."  
  
Out of nowhere, she felt his lips brush her cheek in a tender kiss. She turned her face towards his and their lips met. His thumb brushed gently against her collarbone, sending an unfamiliar kind of heat through her veins.  
  
Eventually they broke apart, but it was clear that neither regretted what they had just done.  
  
"Wow," he said, after a long moment.  
  
"Indeed," she replied with a smirk.  
  
"I can't believe we just did that," he said breathlessly.  
  
"Want to do it again?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
The next morning, Debbie seemed a lot brighter than usual. This, in itself, surprised a lot of people. Ever since the embarrassment over the court-martial she'd been walking around with a rain cloud over her head, but this morning she was decidedly…cheerful.  
  
Jack instantly knew that something was up.  
  
"You look disgustingly happy this morning," he commented, as she breezed past him.  
  
"Why, thank you," she said. "Don't be so suspicious, Jack, it's just that some of us can get rid of our grudges, rather than hold onto them. You might want to tell Sam that."  
  
Jack sneezed suddenly, causing Graham Simmons (who had appeared from nowhere) to jump out of his skin.  
  
"Oh, sorry, Debbie, it's just that I'm allergic to bullshit," he said, deadpan. "Whatever it is you're planning, I don't want any part of it."  
  
"Me?" Debbie asked, the picture of innocence, "I'm not planning anything!"  
  
Just as Jack had passed the unusually happy Debbie, he turned a corner and almost walked straight into an equally unusually happy McKay, who was beaming from ear to ear.  
  
"What the hell are you so pleased about?" Jack snapped, in disbelief.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he laughed, and walked off.  
  
Janet, who came along the corridor at that very moment, looked at Jack, bewildered.  
  
"Was that just…?"  
  
"It was," Jack agreed.  
  
"And then…?"  
  
"It was," Jack nodded.  
  
"Well, whatever it is they're on, I want some!" She said.  
  
At 11:30, Debbie was feeling decidedly more fidgety. She had just half an hour left to complete her plan before she got off world, and was quite giddy with excitement. The handgun was safely concealed in her jacket, and McKay was just about to leave Sam's lab. Everything had gone according to plan.  
  
She watched with a degree of amusement as the aforementioned doctor left the lab, still beaming. She would have given a large amount of money to know what he was so pleased about, but it would have to wait. She waited until he was out of earshot, and crept closer to the door. Sam was humming quietly to herself, working at her laptop.  
  
A smile of realisation spread across Debbie's face. Surely they weren't? Together? Ew…how gross but at the same time how interesting…Jack would just do his nut…she made a mental note to tell him before she went through the gate. By now, her inside men would have disabled the security system so she wouldn't be spotted. Safe in this knowledge, she quietly opened the door and went inside.  
  
Sam felt herself smile as the door opened quietly. He was back already?  
  
"That had better be some good coffee you got there, McKay," she warned.  
  
"Ah, the famous last words," Debbie's dry voice said, as Sam turned around in her chair only to meet the business end of a handgun, with a silencer screwed atop it.  
  
"After all the ingenious ways you tried to kill me, you're just going to do it with a gun?" Sam asked quietly, trying to stop the trembling in her legs.  
  
"Works as well as any other way," Debbie shrugged.  
  
"Then why haven't you done it yet?" Sam continued, "Pulled the trigger? It's silenced, so you could have done it before I even turned around. What stopped you?"  
  
"I just wanted you to know that I know about you and your little scientist," she smiled, "Quite a revolting pair you make, I must say."  
  
"Do you think I'm scared of you?" Sam asked. "Is that why you've done this?"  
  
"You are scared of me," Debbie sneered, "You always have been, since that day in the locker room!"  
  
"Not any more," Sam smiled sadly. "I'm not afraid of you, and what's more - I'm not even afraid of dying any more. In fact, I spent the last few weeks of my life willing it to happen."  
  
Debbie paused for a moment, angry. She had no idea that Carter was going to react this way.  
  
The moment was all that Sam needed. A burst of adrenaline saw her knock the gun clean out of Debbie's hand and across the floor. With a cry of rage, Debbie backhanded Sam across the face and sent her spinning after the gun.  
  
"Stupid little bitch!" she spat, "For someone who doesn't care about dying, you're sure putting up a good fight!"  
  
She grabbed hold of the gun again and pointed it at Sam. It was then that they heard the door open. Sam held her breath as Debbie spun around, weapon still in hand.  
  
"What the?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack," Debbie said, and fired.  
  
Sam leapt, with great difficulty, up from the floor and threw herself at Debbie. By this time the commotion of breaking equipment had attracted outside attention, and Debbie dropped the gun and made a run for it. Sam, cursing at the pain shooting down her side, crawled over to where her CO had fallen and gasped.  
  
The bullet had caught him in the shoulder, and the wound was bleeding profusely. Fortunately, the chaos had alerted several nearby airmen and before she knew what was happening, Janet was at her side.  
  
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly.  
  
"Debbie," Sam ground out through her teeth.  
  
She stood up and hobbled over to her desk, grimacing at the pain shooting down her side. Probably just a pulled muscle, but it hurt like hell. She spied her crutch on the floor just a few feet away and grabbed it, steadying herself with it as she moved quickly out of the door and down the corridor.  
  
"Colonel?" Janet asked, gently patting his cheek with her hand, "Colonel, I need you to stay awake!"  
  
He muttered something under his breath and his eyes began to flutter closed.  
  
"Dammit," Janet cursed, "Get him to the infirmary now!"  
  
She turned around to talk to Sam, only to find that she was no longer there. Considering she was suffering with one of her legs, she could move damn fast. Her thoughts then turned back to her patient, and Sam slipped from her mind.  
  
"Shut down the gate!" Sam yelled, as she made her way into the briefing room where Hammond was sat, along with the Joint Chiefs.  
  
"Excuse me, Major?" Hammond asked, and all the eyes in the room focussed on her.  
  
Sam hoped she wasn't blushing, and stumbled on:  
  
"Colonel O'Neill has been shot, sir, and the assailant may be trying to escape off world."  
  
"Shot?" Hammond asked, "By who?"  
  
Sam didn't have to say anything before realisation dawned in the general's eyes.  
  
"Oh, hell!" He cursed, getting up immediately, without apologising to the chiefs, "Major, with me."  
  
When they got to the gate room, however, there was no sign of Colonel Welling.  
  
"Major, please explain," Hammond said, a hint of irritation in his voice.  
  
"I…she must be hiding somewhere, sir…" Sam said, looking down at the floor.  
  
"Very well, I'll organise teams to start sweeping the base," he said, "But you need to get that hand seen to, Major, you're bleeding."  
  
With that, he swept out of the room.  
  
"It's not my blood," Sam said quietly, but he did not hear her. Her blood ran cold at the thought that Debbie was still somewhere on base, hiding, waiting…  
  
It could so easily have been her that took that bullet, but it seemed that Jack had spared her that. Ironically, he had returned her favour. She rubbed her eyes wearily and made her way slowly to the infirmary. The security teams rushed past her to begin searching the base, but it didn't phase her.  
  
She just wanted this to be over, hoping that it was just some terrible dream and that soon she would wake up and things would be back to normal again.  
  
She'd been thinking that a lot lately. Wallowing in self - pity was not something she would usually have done, but at the moment she had the energy for nothing else.  
  
McKay returned to Sam's lab to be met with the sight of a pool of blood, with lieutenants standing around, gossiping about what had happened. His first thought was of Sam.  
  
"What happened here?" he asked, hurriedly.  
  
"Seems as if Colonel Welling shot Colonel O'Neill," one of them said casually, as if he was discussing a television programme.  
  
"Why would she do that?" McKay wondered out loud.  
  
"Beats me," another man shrugged, "I thought they were sleeping together."  
  
"Exactly," the first lieutenant smirked, and the men laughed.  
  
McKay quietly made his exit and made his way towards the infirmary. When he got there, he saw Sam standing at the end of a bed, her arms folded, crutch leant against the wall.  
  
"Hey," he said quietly.  
  
She smiled weakly at him, turning back to face the Colonel.  
  
"Where's Debbie?" McKay said.  
  
"Still missing," Sam said, looking down at the sheets. "I don't understand how we could have lost her on the base…"  
  
"It's not your problem any more," McKay said. Noticing her increased pallor, he put his hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yes," she said, "I just want to be safe in the knowledge that she's locked up somewhere. I won't be able to relax until I know for sure."  
  
"Well, we have the only active gate on Earth, so she can't have gone very far. Not if she wants to get off world."  
  
"What if she doesn't want to go off world anymore?" Sam asked, "What if she's gone somewhere else?"  
  
"What reason has she got?" McKay reassured her, "She's not got Jack, she has no friends, she doesn't have anywhere to live, no source of income. It makes sense for her to try and get off world because she's got…"  
  
"Nothing to lose," Sam finished, nodding. "You're right, McKay."  
  
"Of course I am," he grinned, "I am the most intelligent man in the universe."  
  
"Jerk," she smiled, elbowing him.  
  
"Come on," he said, "The colonel's not going to be conscious for a while yet, and you look like you need to sit down."  
  
The two of them left the infirmary, Sam rather reluctantly, and made for the relative tranquillity of the commissary. Their lab was still swamped with gossipers and investigators, so they didn't want to be heading back that way for a while yet. As Sam sat down, McKay noticed her wince and hold her side.  
  
"What's wrong with your side?" he asked, slightly annoyed that she hadn't mentioned it before.  
  
"Nothing," she lied, "I just got…shoved."  
  
"By who?" McKay demanded, "Debbie?"  
  
"Yeah, by Debbie," Sam said, sensing the irritation in his voice, "But it's nothing, stop fussing."  
  
"What was Debbie doing with you?" He asked, "I thought she was after Jack."  
  
Sam closed her eyes for a fleeting moment, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to keep the truth from him. She didn't want him worrying unnecessarily, especially not in the middle of the commissary.  
  
"She was after me, not Jack," she admitted, not able to meet McKay's eyes, "She had a gun, she was going to…well, you know what she was going to do, and Jack walked in, and she just…fired."  
  
"She was going to kill you?" McKay asked, in a hushed whisper, "Jeez, Sam! That's not 'nothing'! If Jack hadn't walked in you would be-"  
  
"Dead! I know," she snapped, "And yes, I probably should see Janet but to be honest, the pain I am feeling now is nothing compared to what I was feeling a few weeks ago."  
  
An awkward silence fell over the couple in the aftermath of their argument.  
  
"I'm going for a walk," McKay announced, getting up from the table and leaving the commissary.  
  
Sam left just after he had done, and made her way towards the gate room. Once there, she stared at the silver ring for what seemed like an eternity. It was beautiful, but at the same time it brought so much to Earth and its people that was dangerous, that was dark. It was like Pandora's box. In the years she had worked at the SGC it had brought her so much joy, but so much pain as well. Her eye fell on a group of marines who were about to move out on a mission, and she went through to the control room to stand with Sergeant Davis.  
  
As he was initiating the dialling sequence, Sam leant back against the wall and watched the gate turning. Like a clock, she mused. As they reached chevron 6, however, it became evident that something was going on below them. Cautiously, Sam bent her head to look closer at the glass.  
  
Out of nowhere, chevron seven was locked and chaos erupted on the gate room floor. A fifth figure shot out of the side door and up the ramp, startling the marines who had been ready to move out. She knew in a flash who it was. The marines were already running through the gate after Debbie, and Sam yelled to the sergeant to keep the gate open.  
  
Throwing her crutch away with a grunt of annoyance, she was surprised to find how easily her legs carried her through the gate and out the other side. Sure, Hammond and numerous other people would have her butt for this when she got back through, but if Debbie was going down, Sam damn well wanted to be there when it happened.  
  
Her initial plan had been to hit the ground running. What actually transpired was that she stumbled through the gate and hit the ground in a roll, landing on her back with a curse. One of the marines, ordered to wait behind and guard the gate, rushed to her aid.  
  
"Major, what are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"I thought maybe you could use some help," she said, "And I could sure use the kicking-her-ass part. Do you have anything to cuff her with?"  
  
"I can't allow you to do this, major," he warned, "We're taking care of it, and we don't need a vigilante cripple running around with weapons!"  
  
"On the contrary, I think that's exactly what you need, because this vigilante cripple probably has a better idea of her whereabouts than you. Give me the cuffs, Captain!"  
  
Sam didn't really know what had come over her. Shouting at a junior officer, pulling rank? She better had find Debbie after all this, to justify her actions. With her newly-acquired zat gun, she set off in the opposite direction to the marines. Knowing Debbie, she would have worked out where the marines would search first, and gone somewhere totally different. This didn't really help much, but it was the best she had to go on. Limping slightly, she made her way East towards a group of caves in the side of a hill. It was as good a place as any to start.  
  
Debbie ran. She was amazed that she'd managed such a head start, but then these were marines that she was being pursued by, and she wasn't particularly in awe of their intellect. As they headed for where people usually ran, Debbie made her way towards the most treacherous, difficult climb where nobody in their right mind would have dreamed of running…except her. She knew it was only a matter of time before Hammond sent reinforcements, and then she would be in trouble. More men would be able to cover more ground, leaving her with fewer places to hide.  
  
She wondered briefly about Jack. She'd shot him in the shoulder, so it wouldn't have been fatal. She was greatly annoyed that she hadn't been able to get rid of Sam, but that challenge remained to be attempted another day, she supposed. As she continued running, her foot caught on a large rock and she fell forwards, her hands out in front of her body to break her fall. As she hit the ground she heard a crack, and grimaced. It wasn't her fall that had been broken, after all. With a hiss of pain she rolled over, clutching her wrist.  
  
Deciding that lying on the ground wasn't the best idea, she looked around and saw a group of caves in the hill just a couple of miles away. No, too obvious. Still, she could head in that direction and see what turned up. Blocking the pain in her wrist from her mind, she continued running, at a slower pace. This whole operation had been far too messy. The plan had failed, and she had only just escaped. If she could just keep it together, she had a slim chance of actually getting away with it.  
  
As they neared the hill, both women began to tire, though neither were aware of just how close they were to meeting each other. Their paths had crossed many times before this one, and now it was time for their score to be settled, once and for all.  
  
Debbie was the first to give up. She slumped to the ground behind a large shrub and cursed at the pain in her ankle, as well as the building heat of the day. She held her weapon close to her chest and took a few deep breaths, trying to take stock of the situation. It was then that she heard footsteps behind her, and her whole body tensed.  
  
Surely nobody could have found her this fast? She'd made sure that the marines had gone in the complete opposite direction to her, and even they couldn't move that fast!!  
  
Her assailant was tiring. The footsteps were uneven and slowing down. She could hear the breathing of the person who was, by now, just a few centimetres away from her. Her hand moved around the gun, and her finger lay coolly against the trigger, as if pulling it was the most natural thing in the world.  
  
The figure moved closer, and, finally catching sight of her, tried to raise the alarm. Debbie took aim and fired, and the body fell to the ground.  
  
The marines heard the shot, and immediately sprinted towards its origin. They were a fair distance away, and by the time they arrived at the scene, Debbie was long gone. They fell to the side of their injured comrade and began to help. Fortunately, the shot wound was not fatal.  
  
Sam heard the shot, and suddenly the ache in her leg began to peter away. Debbie was very close by, so close she could almost smell her! Now was not the time to give up. She felt vaguely dizzy, but wasn't sure what the cause was. She continued to put one foot in front of the other, waiting. If Debbie had shot someone, she would be on the run, and hopefully, she would run right into Sam.  
  
A large tree stood very conveniently to her right, and she took shelter behind it. The sun was beating down now, being the middle of the day, and Sam had been having second, third and even fourth thoughts about what the hell she was doing here. The shade offered a brief respite and a chance for her to relax. Well, maybe relax wasn't the right word…  
  
Approaching footsteps had Sam instantly on her guard. She turned around very slowly, still hidden by the tree, and watched as Debbie began to come towards her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she got closer, and closer, and closer…  
  
She passed the tree and Sam took her chance. Jumping out from behind it, her gun at the ready, she snapped off the safety.  
  
"Hold it right there."  
  
For a brief moment Debbie was surprised, but it soon faded. She was still armed, after all, so they were at a stalemate. She could handle this stupid Carter woman.  
  
"What are you going to do, Carter?" She asked smoothly, "Kill me? Go ahead!"  
  
Sam stayed rooted to the spot. Oh God, it was just like the time with Jonas, all over again. Nearly ten years had passed but the same feeling of terror passed over her when she realised that yes, she had the power, but she was unable to use it.  
  
"Oh dear," Debbie laughed, "Can't do it, can we? No, you never did have the guts to-"  
  
A shot rang out, and Debbie fell to the ground.  
  
Later…  
  
"Sam! Sam, what the hell did you think you were doing?" McKay exploded, "I've been going out of my mind here wondering what has happened to you, and…"  
  
"I'm fine, McKay. You should know why I did it - she needed to be brought to justice!"  
  
"Yes, she did, but your leg is busted, you've just come back from the worst mission of your life, you can't just go running through the gate as you please, you could have…"  
  
"I did," Sam finished, sitting back in her chair and closing her eyes, "I already had this lecture from Hammond, the Joint Chiefs, Colonel O'Neill and whoever the hell else wanted a go!"  
  
"I don't care," he said, his voice softening, "I want you to hear it from me too. You mean a lot to me, Sam, you really do, and I don't want to see you busting yourself up again just because there was a chance for you to bring her back!"  
  
"There was a chance!" She argued, "I brought her back, didn't I?"  
  
"If Colonel Edwards hadn't been there," McKay said, "She could have killed you. Is that not right?"  
  
Flashback…  
  
A shot rang out, and Debbie fell to the ground.  
  
Sam looked past her, dumbstruck, as Colonel Edwards lowered his gun to shoot at her again.  
  
"Stop!" She shouted, dropping to the floor beside Debbie.  
  
"But…Major," he protested.  
  
Sam leant over Debbie and watched the expression on her face change, as she pulled the gun out of her hand.  
  
"You think I'm going to let him kill you?" She asked, quietly, "After everything you've done to me? Well, you're wrong."  
  
Debbie gasped a little as the shot in her side began to bleed more profusely.  
  
"I'm not even going to do it myself," Sam continued.  
  
"What…are you going…to…do?" Debbie sneered.  
  
Sam smiled down at Debbie, and reached behind her back. She pulled out a strip of black plastic that was painfully familiar, and leant down to whisper in her ear:  
  
"I'm taking you back to Earth, where I hope to God that you will spend the rest of your pathetic, miserable life rotting in a jail cell!"  
  
Then, she bound her wrists with the plastic and stood up, watching as Debbie was taken away.  
  
Back at SGC…  
  
"She could have done,", Sam admitted, "But she didn't."  
  
McKay sighed and sat down opposite her.  
  
"You need to start taking better care of yourself," he said, "I know this sounds wet, but you don't have to rush around, being superwoman all of the time," He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Let somebody else have a go."  
  
She smiled, tiredly.  
  
"Superwoman could do with a bath and her own bed," she agreed.  
  
"C'mon, I'll take you," he offered. "Would you be needing any help with that bath? Or the bed?"  
  
She giggled and swatted at his hand before it could go any further, wrapping her fingers around his.  
  
"Maybe we could go hang somewhere?" He said.  
  
"Sure," Sam smiled brightly, "You can hang, and I'll kick the stool out from under you!"  
  
With that, she was off down the corridor. It took him a couple of seconds to compute what she had just said, and then he growled.  
  
"Hey! You'll regret that!" He warned, and chased after her.  
  
The End  
  
Author's Note: Well, first of all a BIG, BIG apology for the delay in this chapter, but many things have got in the way of not just this story, but life in general, and I have only been able to concentrate on it in the last few weeks. I understand that some of this sounds unbelievable, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please send feedback to Do you want an epilogue? All thoughts are greatly appreciated. 


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